I know damn well my fear is irrational (and I'm also arachnaphobic). I had no idea I was so petrified of bats since I'd never really encountered them up-close before. I don't know why, but that thing swooping around my living room just made me shut down. Landlord's guy never called him back, so tonight I told dad we're going back and taking care of this. We're leaving for Italy Friday and I haven't started packing yet! I need access to my house.

Next issue: rabies. Sure, the percentage is quite small that this thing has rabies. But should we trap it and get it tested? Now dad is telling me to call my doctor and see if they think I should be tested, in which case we'd have to cancel the trip. He's a hypochondriac, common sense has no place when it comes to medical issues. Should I just lie and say I called my doctor and they said I didn't need to be tested? He's also threatened to cancel the trip because of the AirFrance crash and the swine flu, so if I could ease one of his concerns......