David vs. Goliath

As the monotonous cycle of work --> schoolwork --> sleep threatened our night again, Trisha and I made a run for it and went to play some friendly tennis. There are some great people that play every Wednesday through the Summer, and this was our first night joining their game. Tennis wound down and the group of us went to get snow cones at the wonderful Tiki Shack. We had a nice, relaxing break from our studies - but the real fun started during the short drive home...

After turning onto our street, I felt a foreign object on the edge of my shorts. Unsure of what it was, I investigated the scene with my hand, making sure to keep my eyes on the road. The object was poky, so I assumed it was just a big piece of old brush or something. Since we were so close to home, I decided I would wait and throw it away once we returned home. Bad idea. Suddenly, the object wrapped around my finger! This surprise accompanied by the need to open the garage door and shift into a lower gear really made my manly instincts kick in. As any self-respecting adult male would do, flailed my arm in panic and flung the creature into an unknown part of the front seat. Fortunately, I was able to mask my terrified scream with a sound that somewhat resembled a lethargic ghost. In a state of panic, I frantically pressed the garage door opener repeatedly. Just as the door began to open I would accidentally press it again and it would begin to close again. This only prolonged our time sitting in the driveway in a dark car with a big unidentified bug on the loose. Finally after three or four attempts, the door made its seemingly eternal ascent until we were able to pass under it. I immediately sprung from the car swatting at my clothes and making absurd noises. Trisha spotted the beast sitting in the middle console of the car. This is what she found:

WARNING: IMAGE MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN

So now we were faced with the task of getting this behemoth out of our car. Trisha went inside while I battled with my wits and tried to find a way to get it out of the car without touching it. We have a sprinkler key that is about four feet long with a scooped handle, but to avoid scooping it out of the gearbox and onto the car floor, I needed some help. Trisha willingly came out to help me. She held a box as I stood behind her with the four foot long pole and scooped him in (All the while, I kept freaking out as Trisha kept a composed demeanor.) The mission was a success and we returned the beetle into the wild (I would have killed it if it weren't capable of eating my shoe.) In light of this encounter, we've decided that being outgoing is overrated. If you need us, we'll be doing our homework.