shock

Up until 2:05pm, this Tuesday had been fairly ho-hum. I spent the morning drinking a cup of coffee, cleaning up for Hannah's arrival tomorrow and working on my to-do list of homework and other miscellany. Since I have class at 2:15, I decided to leave a bit early and throw some wash in the washing machine before I left for class. Armed with a suitcase full of laundry and my detergent, I unsuspectingly descended the stairs into the basement where the washing machines are located. I entered the basement, turned on the light, began walking toward the laundry room when I received a sudden shock. There was a mole crawling around right in front of the laundry room door. Now, I am no fan of rodents (this may have something to do with the fact that I am no fan of germs) and I am also a girl. Therefore, I am sure you can easily imagine the high-pitched shreak that accompanied my sudden shock. Suddenly everything looked a little different. I had no desire to be within a foot radius of this blind little rodent but he was blocking my path to the laundry room...I stopped to consider my assets. A rolling suitcase can provide quite a good barrier, a though especially comforting as I considered my choice of footwear: flip-flops exposing my toes to the long nails and teeth of this burrowing creature. (side note: I am fully aware in hind sight that moles are not dangerous and not particularly scary, but I was ambushed!) Never having seen a mole in real life before, I wasn't sure what to expect. As it moved away from the laundry room door, I made my move. Alas, as I moved toward the door, he moved back toward the door. At this point, I completely forgot that moles are in fact blind, so I made an effort to scare it by making noise and moving my suitcase in its direction. Not effective. I then realized that I just needed to get in the laundry room as soon as possible. Using my suitcase as a buffer between me and the mole, I quickly unlocked the door and backed my way into the room, quickly shutting the door behind me. I am ashamed to say that I was shaking all over - that little guy really scared me. About a minute later, I heard a noise and quickly turned as someone else came in the laundry room (I was a little jumpy). I asked him if he had seen the little fellow, to which he replied no (accompanied by a look that said, man, you are such a jumpy, silly little girl!) and looked out into the hall. He then noted that, in fact he did see the mole, and that he was at the opposite end of the hall. Vindicated on all counts of making a rodent up, I just smiled nervously as he chuckled and began loading a washer. Upon leaving, I cautiously looked out the door only to find my little friend once again right near me! Turning, I made a quick run for it and made it safely out the door, up the stairs and out into the real world.

After recounting my horrific tale to Amy and Sarah, they accompaned me post-class to visit the litte guy. As we walked into the hallway, his whereabouts were not immediately evident. But my quick eye noted that he was in the men's bathroom. We turned on the lights to look at them and what did Amy and Sarah say? No, they did not scream in terror, no they did not jump 3 feet in the air, nor did they shake with fear, the let out a collective "awwwww" poor little guy. Upon second examination, he was in fact quite small and not so scary. Oh well...now I can at least say I have seen a real, live mole, and I learned the German word for mole: der Maulwurf. Maybe my heart will stop racing by the time I go to bed tonight!

~love~