quicko: deadly or not

When I first moved to Australia, my mother was very concerned that I'd be attacked by sharks, bitten by snakes, poisoned by spiders, mauled by alligators and wiped out by shells of the kind she'd read about in Bill Bryson. She was also moderately concerned I'd get a slight sunburn.

So far I've managed to survive an entire year, and have noticed that there actually are four million other people in Sydney who are either particulary hardy specimens, or else spend all day in houses with a resident park ranger Orkin man. I've seen several on the street, though, so I guess they're quite hardy stock.

It therefore seems that it is actually possible to survive in Australia sans Mr. Park Ranger-Orkin. But don't worry, Mom, I know I'm not of such hardy stock, so I'm not taking any risks. I'm going to see if he can move in, just as soon as I get back. Maybe he'll even put sunscreen on my back.