That curved beak is what it stabs its victims with....injects powerful digestive juices and then sucks the dissolved 'innards' back through the beak. The stab is very painful, as you can imagine, and the digestive juices can cause some very uncomfortable reactions. These fascinating insect are not beetles, but closely related to stinkbugs.

Hi slemmers, First, congrats on getting away from the abuse. No matter what, that's far more important than anything else. I'm still confused about the holes punched in walls. She dealt with him immediately after punching the hole in the hallway and made him pay for it. If your LL did indeed deal with ex BF, and got $ from him for damage he did as you mention, then you should be off the hook. But then your next sentence is: In response to moonshadow, I am not worried about the punched holes because I know that I am responsible for that and I am going to repair them myself. He was on the lease but I got him to remove himself from the lease before he moved out. I would probably not be able to get repair money from him. I'm more worried about the legality of whether or not she will take my whole damage deposit because there was no move-in inspection. If there are holes left, no matter who did it, the only recourse I see that LL has is for you to pay for it. I'm not sure what to offer you here. Basically there were two parties to a lease, technically both are equally responsible for the condition of the unit. If you are charged for what he did, about the only way I can see that you can argue it would be to go to court and try to prove, with whatever legal evidence you have (police reports, restraining orders) that he was violent and did the damage. It's tricky, and basically a lot depends on how your LL responds at the end of your lease term. Just a tip (and I've had a couple tenants try to use this as a negotiating tool): never assume that because you have made improvements to a place that it somehow negates or offsets any damage. It never does. Holes are not supposed to be there. Holes cost money to fix. Painted cabinets and a new floor will not pay to fix the holes. 3. Regarding the rent, I said that rent is due by 12 AM on the 1st - what I mean is that rent is due on the first of the month and it can be paid up until 12 AM, no its not due on the 31st rent is always due on the first of the month. I don't know how to explain it any better. But I'll try. ;-) The last minute of any day is 11:59PM. The very next minute that immediately follows that, 12:00 AM (midnight), is the beginning of a whole new day. If you stand at your LLs door with rent check in hand at 11:59PM on the 31st, you're not late. If clock rolls one minute to 12AM (midnight) you're precisely on time. If clock rolls one more minute, to 12:01AM and you haven't handed it over then technically it's one minute late. If you're still standing there an hour later, 1AM the rent is 1 hour late. If you stand there all night, into the morning, through the next day and into the evening, 6PM rolls around, technically you are 18 hours late. Does that make sense? Either way, it is a cheque and the cheque doesn't get cleared until about 4 days after I give it to her, so why does it matter if it's paid at 3 pm or 6 pm. There was no reason to call as I have never paid my rent late, this was the first time she called about this and it was odd to me. So it was paid after banking hours, that doesn't concern me - the cheques probably have to be sent out to the property management company. Doesn't matter when the check clears, doesn't matter whose hands in lands in once it leaves yours. The only part of the deal you have to uphold is to pay it on time, anything else beyond that is not relevant. And it should concern you it was paid after banking hours on the 1st. By then it's late. Because it was due at Midnight before 3PM or 6PM. Not the Midnight after 3PM or 6PM. The Midnight that comes after 3PM or 6PM is the beginning minute of the 2nd day of the month. (Gawd that's splitting hours, but I don't know how else to get it across! ;-) And I'm betting she called because you're getting on thin ice with her and she's running out of tolerance and cracking down (because of all issues combined). 4. I'll agree, LL should not have yelled at friend. But she did, and it's done. If it makes her scary, so be it. But it doesn't change the pets clause. I have lived here for 2 years, yet she sometimes doesn't even know who I am...I am not a problem tenant. Guarantee after sending written noise complaints with threat of eviction, having damage (holes) done, having to call you for the rent and catching a visitor trying to enter with a dog, she knows exactly who you are and is watching very closely. Since we don't do anything wrong... I'm not being snarky, but you have done things wrong. And you signed a legally binding agreement that you would not do those things. Forget about personality differences, appliance delivery and tidiness. There's this: 1)two written noise complaints with threat of eviction if a 3rd occurs 2)significant damage done 3)had to call for rent 4)friend is caught bring in banned animal. Each of those things stand by themselves as a lease infraction. Add them all together and it absolutely does spell "Problem Tenant" to your LL. Because on the flip side, in two years there are other tenants who have never had to be served with written notice for anything, have never had to be called for the rent, have never had banned animals in, and have never had holes punched in walls or doors. So from where your LL sits, all kinds of red flags are being sent up to her, and they are coming from the direction of your unit. I'm going to encourage you to stop worrying about her personality, and for your own good follow every last rule to the letter. It's time to lay low and stop drawing attention to yourself. Because if these things continue it's not going to turn out good for you.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Your answer was amazingly helpful. Now that I know what they are (chalkware) I was able to do some further research and I suspect they are lamps from Reglor of California. Reglor produced lamps, typically in male/female pairs utilizing the same paint colors as shown on my pair. They didn't use gilding as far as I can tell, but following your suggestion to google "Siamese Dancers", I did find a similar pair with the gilding. I can't verify the stamp either, since the bottom of the lamps is covered in green felt and I don't want to start pulling them apart. There may be a California connection somewhere as I also have several pairs of earrings purchased at J. Magnin's Department Store in San Franciso (they still have the original tags attached) that were in the attic with the lamp. I found this link to helpful: http://www.citysalvage.com/reglor/ Now the question is what the heck do I do with them?

I've had mostly pleasant Google surprises rather than shocks, when Googling old boyfriends. Overall, it seems their lives turned out not only happy and healthy (so far, knock wood) but pretty much as they planned: English major turned English teacher, journalism major turned journalist, free spirited long-haired beach bum turned, ummm, guy who lives very well although not technically 'employed', on the beach in an Asian country where (at least before legalization) he could more readily access his favorite herb. All three former bf's still married to their original wives, even. Regarding old friends and roommates I'd lost track of...I've had some surprises there as well. A roommate I thought would marry the rabbinical scholar her parents would find for her, I found married to someone who could not be farther from it--literally, could never have imagined the match she made and I would love to know (though would never ask) how they came to be together. A classmate who I did not appreciate much but who was part of a group of friends I belonged to in college is a well-regarded writer with a home featured in the NYT for its style. Another classmate was featured in the NYT Vows section, and I started to wonder whether I was the only one from the rural midwest who didn't move to NYC and live with such flair! I've never even been in the local paper. And, oh, the prettiest girl in my high school is still the prettiest. And the very handsome boy I had a perpetual crush on but who couldn't have picked me out of a lineup is still extremely (I mean really!) good looking but his politics are so out of line with mine I can't really regret not making his cut. Thank you, Facebook!