My Evening

[Modus Ponens]

I am a mottephobe; that is, I am intensely afraid of moths (http://www.ihatebutterflies.com/).

My computer has been overheating a lot lately, so tonight I decided finally to call Alienware and ask them what to do. Sabastian, I think he said his name was, suggested that I dust the damn thing out, so I strolled down to Rite-Aid and bought some cans of air. I got back and gave my computer A Thoroughly Polite Dust-Off (Arrested Development reference) out on the balcony.

When I finished, I brought my computer back inside, and, sure enough, was greeted by a large moth sitting on the far wall. I didn't know what to do--my roommate wasn't home, and I do not have the courage to handle that kind of situation by myself. Fearing additional moth invasions, I quickly slammed shut the sliding screen door to the balcony. This apparently perturbed the little demon, as it began to fly about. Now, everyone knows that moths are more or less attracted to bright lights, but it's a little known fact that moths are even more attracted to people who are afraid of them. I do know this, so quickly did what any mottephobe would do in this situation: I panicked and dropped to the floor to cower like a turned undead. I managed to get the screen door open again, hoping that the moth would leave.

After a minute or so of stewing in my own cowardice, I crawled out onto the balcony again and closed the door. Now, at least, there was a closed door between me and my foe (assuming it was even still in my apartment). Unfortunately, a cursory glance from my position on the balcony failed to reveal its location, which meant that now it could be anywhere, so there would be no relaxing for quite some time. Joy.

I grabbed my now-empty cans of air, aware of their ability to dole out cold-element blasts when inverted. Of course, I had already expelled most of the propellant from both cans after cleaning my computer in an attempt to freeze a leaf on a nearby tree (it worked quite well, as a matter of fact), but I knew that there was still a little bit left, so I was hoping it would be enough to deter a would-be moth attack. Armed with my improvised weapons, I reentered my apartment looking for trouble.

I slowly and carefully patrolled my place, checking every possible moth location (which was every possible location, period), always ready to spray whatever I saw if need be. I made my way around, and began to calm down, as I was more and more convinced that the moth had indeed flown back outside when I gave it the chance earlier. I had just a few more locations to check, though, before I could really calm down. And lo!, I found it on the blinds.

I retreated, and it flew to a new location, which was much more in the open, which came as a bit of relief to me, since now I could at least keep an eye on it. I stood there, cans in hand, waiting for either my roommate to return or for the moth to make a move. Neither happened for some time, so I decided to take my trusty kakuro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakuro) book and my PSP and hit the road for a while to cool down. I didn't have to do this, though, as just then my roommate entered. I quickly briefed him on his task and fled the scene. He shooed the moth away and I breathed about thirty consecutive sighs of relief.

So that's what I've been up to. How about you guys?

[{DSG}DarkRaven]

I would really make fun of this, but I can't find the appropriate picture of Ned Flanders. And I'm not that mean.

I was working last night, and my autistic resident was going crazy, as usual. Man, am I glad my raise goes through soon.

[Glenn the Great]

I don't want to make fun either, as I understand that millions of people have horrible phobias over what I'd never imagine being afraid of.

That being said, I absolutely love moths. They are super-cute, and nothing makes my day more than being able to find a large moth like a Luna Moth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_moth) and sit with it in my hand.

[Aegix Drakan]

...wow. Well, at least the problem got solved. I like your idea to use the freeze-spay.

No, I'm not gonna laugh at your fear. I personally have a phobia for wasps. I've improved a lot though. I used to run screaming for safety whenever I saw one, but now, I just saty totally still and try to telepathically tell the bugger to GTFO.

But yeah, good luck getting over the fear. It's not easy.

[Glenn the Great]

...wow. Well, at least the problem got solved. I like your idea to use the freeze-spay.

I will admit that was also what got me hooked on your story.

I was a little disappointed that the event ended without any actual Frost DPS being dealt.

[The_Amaster]

Yeah, I'm not going to make fun either, mostly because I can recount several stories similar to that involving bees/hornets/wasps, of which I am completely paranoid about, due to some childhood trauma.
(Age 4: Hornets at the family reunion. Age 5: Wasps at the park. Age 6: Bees at summer camp. Three summers, three stinging insects)

[Grasshopper]

Isn't it polite to know that people go out of their way to say "I'm not going to make fun of you" just to let you know they want to. :tongue:

[Modus Ponens]

Listen, you guys can totally laugh and tease. I grant you this. I think a moth is a completely ridiculous thing to be afraid of. It's like God has played some practical joke on me.


They are super-cute, and nothing makes my day more than being able to find a large moth like a Luna Moth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_moth) and sit with it in my hand.

Honestly, if I can look at a picture of a moth like that from the comfort of my computer and momentarily push aside my phobia, I do agree that they're cute. But, then, so is Chucky. You guys know those Lunesta (http://www.lunesta.com/) commercials, right? They show a person sleeping restlessly until an enormous luna moth flies up to their face and then they suddenly are calm and happy. If I happened to wake up during this phenomenon, I might literally die of fright.

As for the freeze spray, yeah, I kinda did want to loose a couple of cones of cold, but I was afraid that it might not work, and if it did work, then I'd have this dead moth to deal with, and where it finally took up residence, it would have surely landed somewhere behind my roommate's bed, amongst his stuff, and I didn't want him to have to deal with that.

[biggiy05]

Lunesta commercials, right? They show a person sleeping restlessly until an enormous luna moth flies up to their face and then they suddenly are calm and happy. If I happened to wake up during this phenomenon, I might literally die of fright.

Just trying to picture that alone is funny.:D

[Aegix Drakan]

You guys know those Lunesta (http://www.lunesta.com/) commercials, right? They show a person sleeping restlessly until an enormous luna moth flies up to their face and then they suddenly are calm and happy. If I happened to wake up during this phenomenon, I might literally die of fright.


roflcopter. I can see the scene now. Calming music, moth flies over riverman, who's tossing and turning. then, Riverman turns, sees the moth, lets out a blood-curdling scream, and proceeds to beat the crap out of the moth with the light by his bed.

XD


And As for how I got my phobia...well, when I was really little (about 2), I was eating a popcicle, or something, and I got stung because the bloody wasp wanted to steal my dessert. Then, when I was about 5, I went on a hike up a mountain with my grandparents. I don't remember much, except that I stopped by a garbage can where a wasp was flying. Ignoring my vague unidentified apprehension, I bent down and extended my index finger. The wasp landed right on it, and I thought: "Aww. It looks kinda cu- *sting!* OUCH!!!!!" Ever since then, I've had trouble around them. Bumblebees too. Probably because they're so damn huge.

:(

[Beldaran]

Aegix - I am inhumanely horrified of bees and wasps too. When I was seven years old I was stung about 20 times in a row after stepping on a wasps nest on accident. It was traumatic. I thought someone was shooting me with a BB gun or something. To this day, I just absolutely lose my shit if there's a bee flying around.

So I understand your story completely Riverman. I've been in the same boat, except with a different creature of evil.

[Prrkitty]

My "creature of evil" is fire ants. I'm told when I was (I think) 1 1/2 years old I fell down, bottom first, into a fire ant nest. My diaper protected only the middle part of my body... the rest was, apparently free-game, and overun by ants. Thankfully the bites didn't kill me but Momma said I was miserable for a few months until the bite spots all healed.

I can't say I'm necessarily afraid of ants... but I make VERY wide berths of any that I see.

Also I'm, constantly, "saving" my husband from spiders. And I can't believe how big them suckers can get over here in the Pacific Nortwest. I swear some of them get bigger then silver dollars (legs and all).

[Mitsukara]

Mmm, I'm reminded of living in a house with flying cockroaches. Ugh. Those things are the spawn of hell, I believe.

Fireants are pretty horrible, although I'm not as afraid of them as I perhaps should be. But I always try to avoid them. It's surprising I don't have some phobia of them, because apparently I was playing outside when I was fairly little and had a similar experience to PrrKitty's. I don't remember it at all though.

Wasps and bees... I've never been stung. Don't want to. Those things scare me too.

Also, when I was about 9/10 a Scorpion crawled into one of my shoes (the joys of relatively crappy housing in Texas) and stung my hand. That hurt pretty bad, and as a result I tend to check inside shoes before putting them on whenever I think of it now.

Moths though, those aren't so bad, although I can understand various phobias. Mostly if I see a moth inside I'm worried about damage to clothing and such.

Once I was at a nature center place and they had a display of different bugs from foreign countries. There was one that had about a 6" wingspan IIRC, from either South America or Africa. I would instantly fall over dead if I saw one of those, I think.

[Glenn the Great]

I have phobias, but they are all of things that can actually cause me legitimate harm.

[ShadowTiger]

Fire ants and scorpions can't?

I guess it depends on your definition of "harm"...

[Beldaran]

I'm afraid of a handful of things that can't really harm me.

I am absolutely horrified of invertebrates, nearly to the point of insanity. If there is a hell, and I end up getting sent to hell, it will consist of a giant moldy pond filled with octopuses, squid, sea cucumbers, sea slugs, sea anenomes, and anything slimy or that has tentacles. I literally can not imagine a worse fate.

I would rather be vigorously tortured in a traditional medieval dungeon for 24 hours straight than spend five minutes in a tank with octopuses.

[phattonez]

I'm with Bel, for some reason those things also really scare me. I also hate most insects, but I can always kill them. Snails are the worse for me by far.

There is an inkblot that I can't stand to look at, it's the one with the orange eyes and it just looks so evil to me that I can't bare to look.

[Glenn the Great]

Fire ants and scorpions can't?

I guess it depends on your definition of "harm"...

Oh yeah, they can. Which is why fireants are one of my phobias.

If scorpions were as ridiculously numerous as fireants, I'd put them on my list also. I almost never happen upon scorpions though.

[4matsy]

...

HEY LINK!

We need a spare fire rod in here NOW!



...Seriously though, I can't believe no one here thought of the Mothula joke yet. o.O

[moocow]

I'm terrified of anything with more than 4 legs... spiders, centipedes, millipedes, etc. I'm also afraid of grasshoppers, crickets, toads and frogs. Anything slimy. Worms make me throw up.

The dark, silence and being alone. If you put me in a dark, quiet room by myself, I'd likely commit suicide. It's just that I have an extremely overactive imagination, so I often see and hear things that aren't there. It's annoying, and terrifying.

Clowns, I'm also afraid of clowns. And creepy Mexicans. You know, the short little men who follow you around the mall? Those guys.

[mrz84]

I express cowardice around wasps and anything that has a wing+stinger combo. That's about it. :kitty:

[biggiy05]

Clowns, I'm also afraid of clowns. And creepy Mexicans. You know, the short little men who follow you around the mall? Those guys.

HAI!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/biggiy05/chucky-lg.jpg

[erm2003]

Holy crap biggiy. A friend of mine is deathly afraid of clowns. If I showed her this she would never speak to me again. Nice pic.

[ShadowTiger]

That looks more like a headcrab zombie than a clown. :blah: :laughing:

I hate clowns. I do. I really do. But I'd be more afraid of the legal charges acquired from shooting a clown than having to shoot a former human with a headcrab on it.

[Aegix Drakan]

You know Beldaran, I was pretty darn close to a wasp nest when someone stepped on it. Luckily, me and my younger brother managed to get out of range. Still...It freaked me out. I can't blame you for being traumatized.

Also, I can (sort of) see the medieval dungeon as a good trade off for the octopus tank. I saw an 3D Imax movie about ovean animals while on vacation, and after seeing that, I can say that death by octopus has got to be one one of the worst ways to go *shudders*


And Moocow, If you have a phobia for clowns do not, I REPEAT! DO NOT watch the movie "It". I saw a few snippets of it in Music class, and honestly even though I don't have a fear of clowns, it really put me on edge for a few days. *glances over shuolder looking for homicidal ghost-clowns*

[mrz84]

I saw parts of "It" a few years ago I still am creeped out whenever I see the movie at my local Blockbuster. That movie was jsut evil. :odd:

[DarkDragoonX]

You guys know those Lunesta (http://www.lunesta.com/) commercials, right? They show a person sleeping restlessly until an enormous luna moth flies up to their face and then they suddenly are calm and happy. If I happened to wake up during this phenomenon, I might literally die of fright.

I think I'd probably be scared as well... not because of the moth, so much as the green, glowing, radioactive nature of the Lunesta moth. Ten bucks says exposure to that thing causes tumors to rapidly spawn throughout your body.

My two personal phobias are spiders, which are horrible, nasty hell-creatures bent on world domination, and large dogs, who are also horrible, nasty hell-creatures with a mouthfull of sharp teeth far too close to the groin region to be up to anything good.

[moocow]

biggiy, I should stab you for that.

[{DSG}DarkRaven]

Fire ants and scorpions can't?

Uh, hasn't anyone ever heard of Anaphalaxis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaphalaxis)? Being repeatedly exposed to insect venoms, such as bee stings, for instance, can cause progressively more severe allergies to develop. This is bad.

My kinda-sorta phobia is small boats. I missed 90 minutes of beautiful Irish national park because I was staring at the bottom of our tiny boat. My neck hurt like heck afterwards. It's not so bad now that I've sorta learned how to swim, but in previous days, the fear of sinking was great.

[Beldaran]

My kinda-sorta phobia is small boats. I missed 90 minutes of beautiful Irish national park because I was staring at the bottom of our tiny boat. My neck hurt like heck afterwards. It's not so bad now that I've sorta learned how to swim, but in previous days, the fear of sinking was great.

It sounds like you're afraid of drowning, not necessarily small boats. When I read:



My kinda-sorta phobia is small boats.

I imagined you strolling down the beach, having a great time, when all of a sudden you see a small boat going past in the water. Terrified, you drop everything and run screaming. I was thinking you might be crazy.:)

[SUCCESSOR]

I'd save crazy for someone who might be frightened when confronted by an earth worm.

And how the hell can a moth scare anyone? I don't even think they pose a significant choking hazard.

I've never really developed any phobias. Usu when I realize I'm being unreasonable I make great efforts to over come it. If I were to cower or flee from a roach I would certainly want to be beating to my own humiliation and shot for the sake of eliminating small-mindedness.

I'm not saying the isn't nothing wrong with none of you all of course!

[Mitsukara]

Cockroaches are great fun when they fly around in your kitchen, banging clumsily into the wall and scuttering away only to reappear hours later. And then they hang out in your bedroom in the middle of the night.

I'm told that in extremely severe cases, when you have a roach infestation and not much food out (and it's probably also made worse by sleeping on or near the floor as this person was), that eyelashes are made of yummy protein and have a tendency to vanish.

Cockroaches made me miss those little tiny roaches that hang out in your food cabinet, because at least they didn't fly and they weren't fucking huge.

Have I mentioned recently how much better I like the apartment I'm living in now, than I did my parents' house?

[moocow]

My kinda-sorta phobia is small boats. I missed 90 minutes of beautiful Irish national park because I was staring at the bottom of our tiny boat. My neck hurt like heck afterwards. It's not so bad now that I've sorta learned how to swim, but in previous days, the fear of sinking was great.

That reminds me... I'm also afraid of lake/river water. If I can't see the bottom, I won't get in. For real. I'm okay to a certain depth but seriously... it terrifies me.

[biggiy05]

biggiy, I should stab you for that.

:D That wouldn't be very nice. I can go post a few more clowns if you want.

[Beldaran]

http://www.forrestkyle.com/photos/21024.jpg

[Grasshopper]

That clown looks like the clowns from the Killer Clown movie.


I'm also afraid of grasshoppers...:sweat: I promise I don't bite.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/images/camelcricket2a.jpg

These things usually freak me out until I realize what they are. Mainly because they like to jump like 3-4 feet into the air, right in front of me to be a show off. Especially when I'm playing games, and they jump in front of the TV. But bugs that move faster than they appear that they should usually creep me out. Once I was lying in the floor watching a movie, and felt something on my foot. It was comforting to see a large spider just dart across my chest. I ended up poking at it with my fingers. Those silly spiders are afraid of me. Bwhaha

[{DSG}DarkRaven]

I imagined you strolling down the beach, having a great time, when all of a sudden you see a small boat going past in the water. Terrified, you drop everything and run screaming. I was thinking you might be crazy.:)

Okay, let me rephrase myself: I am afraid of being in small boats. Large boats don't bother me. I was on a ferry between Wales and Ireland, and it was no big deal. I was on a much smaller riverboat once here in Michigan, and it was great. Canoes, rowboats, and the like just don't sit well with me. The thought of it doesn't bother me, nor does the sight of it. Simply being in such a boat gives me great anxiety, and it's very much connected with drowning.

Successor, phobic objects are rarely as harmful as the intense fear they cause might suggest. Being afraid of bees, for instance, is far more common for someone who has no documented risk of bee sting allergies, which is exactly the opposite of what you might expect.

For instance, some quick google searching with the right keywords brings up some videos of the Maury Povich show (which I am completely unable to watch on 56k), where they have people scared of the most ridiculous things. Balloons, peaches, alluminum foil, cotton balls, and even birds and mustard (http://digg.com/videos/comedy/Maury_Povich_-_Phobias_-_Birds_Mustard).

[The_Amaster]

even birds and mustard (http://digg.com/videos/comedy/Maury_Povich_-_Phobias_-_Birds_Mustard).


Do you mean birds and mustard together, or just birds and just mustard. Because fear of mustard is really stupid. Birds I could see being a phobia though. Ever see a movie by the same name?

Aside from wasps/bees/hornets, my phobias probably only include jellyfish, stingrays, and other similar animals.

(Actually, thinking about it, I guess my childhood instilled me with a fear of anything that stings.)

[Glenn the Great]

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/images/camelcricket2a.jpg

These things usually freak me out until I realize what they are. Mainly because they like to jump like 3-4 feet into the air, right in front of me to be a show off. Especially when I'm playing games, and they jump in front of the TV.

I LOVE those things. They are called Camel Crickets or Cave Crickets. I have literally hundreds of them living in my basement, and even more in my sub-basement.

I like to go down and catch them every once in awhile. My mom hates them, and makes me catch them when they manage to get to the 1st floor.

They are interesting bugs because they are wingless and thus don't produce noise, and they have a really strange property with their eyes, where they always think they are moving in the opposite direction that they really are. This makes it so that when they try to run away from predators, they actually hop towards them, scaring them.

[{DSG}DarkRaven]

Do you mean birds and mustard together, or just birds and just mustard.

I have no idea. Did you even watch the video? I can't, on account of my 56k. But you should. Totally.

[Aegix Drakan]

they have people scared of the most ridiculous things. Balloons, peaches...

...Peaches? How the heck can someone be scred of PEACHES?!? Last I checked, they don't bite...

[Glenn the Great]

I discovered what Riverman was using in his struggle against the moths:

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/9995/mothbanegn6.png (http://imageshack.us)