flip-flop of doom

i see only one problem with japan's custom of removing your shoes at the door...facing off with large insects can feel a lot more vulnerable and intimidating when stomping is removed from your arsenal. enter The Flip Flop of Doom. i've already removed said flip-flops at the door, so i still have to scrabble to grab one, but it becomes a deadly weapon in my hands. plus, it's all i've got! nothing else is accessible enough and will stand up to repeated bashing. i mean, what am i going to do--grab a cockroach with chopsticks? the cockroach can probably USE chopsticks. try to hit a 3 inch spider with a miniscule japanese paper towel? nuh uh. i don't want that much contact with an insect so leggy it could give charlize theron a run for her money.
i rewarded my long day of cleaning with a walk to the closest vending machine for grape soda. unlike fanta, which tastes just exactly like grape soda, bubble man grape soda tastes like liquid pop rocks. not bad!
most people know a little bit about the shangri-la that are japanese vending machines, but i'll talk more about them later so you're all in the loop. nightie-oh.