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Ode To The Gecko

This new dashboard on Blogger is driving me nuts! I much prefer the older version but I think there's no turning back now ? I can't view things properly on my phone for some reason. The sentiment also goes for Facebook's new Timeline, which I think, is like a complicated open diary. Not neat. Again, there is no turning back there, too. 

Thought I'll put this sweet one up. Something written by a friend.
Ode to the Gecko
The Gecko is a funny chap that lives in nooks around my flat.
I often catch him unawares when opening doors or climbing stairs.

I don't despise him despite lack of rent.
Although too much time picking up his turds is spent!

We never argue, we rarely bicker,
And seldom does he hide the TV flicker.

He keeps the place clear of mozzies and gnats,
And never bores me with "meaningful" chats.

He's happy if I have friends to stay,
Whether bi or straight or just the other way.

He never tuts if the toilet seat's up,
Or whether I've used his favourite cup.

He's never bothered if I'm home late.
We've never exchanged a word of hate!

In fact it's becoming plain to see,
That my Gecko mate's a bit like me.

And so I'd like to raise a toast!
"To the Gecko!" For I'm his host.
- James Knight - 

I've had some pretty crazy encounters with some species of the reptile myself. A particular incident was when I caught one going across my lap onto the passenger's seat while negotiating a sharp corner! It was a garden lizard - the sort that has smooth, shiny black skin with vertical yellow lines on it, which had probably gotten into the car when I left the doors open in the house garden earlier. So umm, basically my heart stopped for a bit, while I screamed my lungs out before braking at a petrol station for a frantic carwash. I'm sure both of us were equally terrified.

The carwash boys found it amusing though. 
"There's a lizard in there somewhere. Please, please, get it out for me,". 
Looking back it does seem funny but I can tell you now that my heart was running like a headless chicken then - the only saving grace was probably the fact that I smile a lot when I'm nervous and don't actually exhibit a headless chicken act. But really, how do you catch a five-inch lizard that has probably settled himself into the coziest corner of an old 4WD? Thirty minutes later, the boys told me that the lizard had been vacuumed out. I didn't have a reason to believe them, so I got in and drove off, fidgety and frightened of another freak jump onto me. A week passed by like that and I avoided wearing skirts (cuz I know of a person who got into an accident when a gecko ran up her skirt). Then, on Sunday, I'd noticed the dead gecko's frame at the back seat. Now you'd think it was a relief at this point but it really wasn't - I had wanted it out, not dead. Or we could've learnt to live without getting into each other's way, much like the geckos that reside in the secret places of our homes.


Comments

  1. Sorry to hear Blogger's sucking right now Jaya, that Ode To The Gecko is awesome too as is our story about the lizard in your car, hilarious stuff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i suppose i just need to get used to it ?
      thanks, Matthew :)

      Delete
  2. Tell your friend he wrote an excellent and amusing poem!
    No geckos here but I imagined what it would be like to discover a mouse near or on me while driving – I would FREAK! And I don’t care if that’s a “girly” reaction. It’s an honest one.
    (I don’t know why a mouse would be in a car, but, hey…)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i will, Beth :) it's an excellent poem.
      it's a real reaction - how do you keep calm in such situations.
      i think if you leave your doors open for more than 30 mins in a mouse-infested area, yeah, you could get them in your car :)

      Delete
  3. Would you believe there's a blogger called Stella who keeps an iguana (far bigger than a gecko) as a pet? You can find pictures of her cuddling it in her blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. that's a big one, GB.
      here, Iguanas seem to be a popular pet among many. i wouldn't keep one but i know of some who do :)

      Delete
    2. My hump-happy neighbor downstairs has an iguana. He's been praying for the animal to die for years now, but it just won't kick the bucket. Serves him right.

      Delete
    3. apparently they can live for more than a decade. lol.
      but you know RC, parrots can live up to 80 years or so.
      :)

      Delete
    4. I had no idea. I've got a funny feeling this particular iguana's much much older. I'm hoping for it to outlive the average parrot :D

      Say, it's weekend again!

      Delete
  4. Such a fun bit of verse, your friend did great. LMAO well as long as they stay in secret places all should be fine. And yeah stupid blogger and stupid facebook and their stupid changes, are well stupid.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. coming from you, thanks Pat :)
      its stupid, really. the dashboard doesnt show some features on my phone!
      urgh.

      Delete
    2. Pat and I frequent the same clinic. We're still trying to get over those tricks Blogger pulled on us a couple of months ago. Don't tell me you know what I mean...

      Delete
    3. Really, RC. I don't know what you mean :p

      Delete
    4. Well, allow me to take that literally, Jaya J. Here's a sad, sad story..... I'm over it now. I don't know about the Catman, though.

      Delete
  5. EEEEK. It reminds me of the time there was a HUGE spider hanging from my rearview mirror. Ack.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i would have gone crazy too. all insects, most reptiles are quite eeeek really.

      Delete
  6. I think I'd die if a black and yellow gecko crawled over me. I'm not usually fond of anything that breathes and isn't human.

    On another note, Twitter + Myspace = Facebook Timeline. I'm not particularly fond of it either. And blogger has been driving me nuts these days too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hahaha. i almost nearly died. well, i could have if i wasnt mindful of the traffic since i was driving at that point.
      yep. it's super annoying, the new settings :(

      Delete
  7. It's easier to get rid of them when they die and can't run.
    That's the advantage to death. I like to maim them by stomping on whatever part I can hit with my boot. Then I finish them off. I am a vicious bitch.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. whoa Janie :) i can kill ants because they are so tiny i cant feel their death. but i cant do that to chunky insects because i can feel and see their juices splash and that doesn't go well with me. eeeekk.
      and i most definitely couldnt have hurt or maimed a gecko hahahaa.

      Delete
  8. My yard is infested with lizards. I leave my blinds open while I type and can see a few of them staring in my window at me. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, not sure.

    You are smart for not wearing a skirt haha! I would wreck, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i dont mind them really. just them crawling on me isnt cute :p
      a lizard up the skirt...i cant imagine.
      lol

      Delete
  9. I'm definitely not loving the new Blogger dashboard either...or the new FB timeline...sigh

    Just wanted to let you know, Jaya, that you're featured in my very special blog story. Take a look when you can--I think you'll enjoy it. :)

    --Susan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i saw that, Susan. and thank you very much for all that effort and work.
      *HUG*
      :)

      Delete
  10. I like geckos a lot. But spiders are something else....

    ReplyDelete
  11. Poor gecko. And poor you for getting startled like that. I don't mind lizards, but I sure don't want them running across me while I drive.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love geckos since I played Gex 3. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i dont suppose they dont crawl on you when youre at it. hahaha.

      Delete
  13. so funny...you scared each other!!!
    I am your newer follower..pls follow back if you can.
    my boys collect those kinds of creatures...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks for following :) followed.
      i remember collecting fireflies - they intrigued me.

      Delete
  14. I know it should have changed for me by now but I still have the old format. o_o

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. earlier there used to be an option but now no :(

      Delete
  15. Love the poem. But next I want to see Ode to The Caveman. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Incredible poem, heartfelt and so warm. Your friend is a genius Jaya.

    ReplyDelete
  17. There's this gecko that supposedly (meaning it's an urban legend) can cure HIV/AIDS and it's worth at least RM 20,000 per gecko.

    A kid (14, if I recall correctly) died over the CNY period when he tried to catch one on top of a tree. Fell to his death.

    I heard about this over CNY, that's a lot of money for a gecko. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. should just avoid getting Aids in the first place, no ?
      :) RM 20,000 is a lot of money. Poor kid though.
      thanks for visiting, Huai Bin. hope things are okay with you.

      Delete
  18. I'd like to here the gecko up the skirt story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the lady is a friend of ours, who was on the way to work. gecko went up the skirt and she crashed into another car. no one was hurt, but she was traumatised. i totally get it.

      Delete
  19. The Gecko not paying rent made me laugh, hes a moocher, but at least he earns his keep by whacking all the annoying insects. The lizard in a car was funny i like the guy in the petrol station who left it in anyway, maybe he was a lizard lover?. You have a real history with lizards, id suggest a trial seperation from them for now. You can email them sometimes, but its best to have closure and move on. Your posts are always really funny, i look forwardto reading them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hahaha. thanks a lot.
      here, you can never be legally separated from lizards.
      they are just there and everywhere, hiding.

      Delete
  20. Hey Jaya, tell me bout it - the new blogger n the fb timeline suxx royally - the sad part is that we can't really go back either :(

    Aah the gecko.. even though I tell my landlady that only one person lives here, both me n the countless geckos here know the real truth.... strangely I get the feeling I'm being watched....

    :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i really wonder what goes on the minds of these geckos when they watch you ? you know what i mean? they have a bad habit of staring.
      hope you're well, Raj.
      :)

      Delete
  21. See, I prefer the old dashboard because it is blue. I'm serious. No pun intended, Jaya J. The new one's so d@mn ugly I often go back to the old one, which some would say is precisely what you'd expect a dino to do. (That's another encounter with a reptile...) Anyway, I gather you said AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! when that lizard tried to help you out with that corner? I think I heard you. You didn't say EEEK!, right? I guess in Scotland there aren't many lizards to be found.... :))

    ReplyDelete
  22. my old dashboard was brown, RC. how come yours is blue ?
    yes, i said AAAAAAAAAAAA X 10, but i feel Eeeek at the thought of them crawling on me.
    i guess in Scotland, lizards dont live in people's homes ? hahaha.
    hope you're well, RC.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Brown? Are you serious? Mine was blue and now it's a hideous orange. AAAAAA x 10. Otherwise I'm doing alright. So much better than yesterday. The sun is shining. I guess that helps a great deal.

    ReplyDelete
  24. What's up, yeah this paragraph is genuinely nice and I have learned lot of things from it about blogging. thanks.
    Also see my webpage - best male anti ageing cream

    ReplyDelete

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