Check your shoes!

Friends warned me to check my shoes before putting them on. I now see why.

This morning, I nearly stepped into a spider. I haven't any clue whether this is a dangerous spider, but I was not interested in finding out.

I am currently staying at a guesthouse outside the "lovely" town of Monze. I have been dragged somewhat reluctantly onto the municipal budget team and therefore find myself on a budget retreat with representatives from each municipal department. We start the days early and finish late. The first scheduled tea break yesterday morning became a "working tea break" and it's all been downhill from there.

The guesthouse is definitely not a luxury property but it's habitable. However, I can hear little creatures scurrying around above the ceiling of my room, which I suspect may be bats. As long as we can maintain our respective levels of privacy while I occupy the room, I'll try to ignore the fact that they're there.

Incidentally, my roommate Rob recently had an experience at his office that involved bats; I would prefer not to repeat it here at the Mayfair Lodge. After years of building neglect, the bats had pooped enough guano onto the upper surface of the ceiling (the floor of their "cave"), that the ceiling collapsed into the office. I think the mess has been largely cleaned up now, but the stench was noticeable all around the BOMA for days after the incident.