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I've been informed that what I'm dealing with is most likely not a salamander, as they are amphibians and live in water. This is probably a gecko. There's about a zillion websites on the care, feeding, and breeding of geckos. When I type into a search engine the words "gecko" and "eliminate", I get websites on how to eliminate their stress during travel/shipping. Here's a website dedicated to gecko photos. Mine is more anemic looking with (even) beadier eyes, I swear. Somehow I think I have the wrong attitude. Keep those suggestions coming!

I have a little problem. If someone has a suggestion on how I can solve it, I'm certainly open to new ideas. This is my problem: I have a salamander living in my stereo speaker and I can't get rid of him, or her.

Over the last several weeks, I noticed movement every time I went to turn on the stereo. My response for the first few weeks was to just ignore it and hope that it was my imagination, or that whatever it was would just crawl away. That didn't work, so the last time I noticed it I made a half-hearted effort at looking under and around the stuff on the shelf to see where it had scurried to.

This time I really looked for it and, noticing the opening on the back of the speakers, have come to the conclusion that it's building a nice little nest right inside. Gross. I tried knocking, then shaking it out. Right now I'm resorting to playing music very loudly. I chose some of the awful stuff that Askan likes - Die Toten Hosen (the Dead Pants - don't ask, I have no idea), Rednex, and his Mongolian chant CD. Nothing has worked. Apparently this salamander is a real music lover. As I mentioned, I'm looking for a new idea. If one of them works, I'll certainly send a lovely Ugandan craft item to the person!

I finally have wheels. From the picture, you'll notice that I'm moving down in the world - if you care about cars. I've decided I better not since I'm not the most attentive driver in the world and it seems like I'm never in a position to really spend time worrying about what I'm driving, so long as it works.

This baby has 4 speeds, 2 radios (one AM, one FM), and the steering wheel on the right side. I already had to replace the battery after letting it sit for a month while I was out of town (whoops). My expectations are low - so that if it actually runs for two years I'll be pleasantly suprised. And yet, I'm constantly reminded in my discussions with Ugandans about cars that there's a whole lot of people out there that would be happy to have wheels, but can't afford it. Import tax on cars is about 25%; they're crazy expensive. So I'm really thrilled to be free of mooching rides and public transportation. Just have to remember to look right-left-right instead of left-right-left.