Japan has taught me tolerance: I've become far too comfortable living with cockroaches. And they have gotten used to me too. I'd come home from work too tired to care about the dark configurations on the kitchen counter. When I turned the light on, they wouldn't even run. I'd then turn off the light, say good night, and go to bed.

You would be amazed to see what goes on in your house while you're not there. At the beginning of the summer I had noticed some baby roaches scuttling around and thought: What is this, a freakin' day-care center? But then again, they don't eat much and they don't take up much space, so I didn't do anything about it. And you know kids, they grow so fast. By the end of the summer, they were as big as sofas. When they started standing in front of the kitchen door blocking my entry, I knew it was time to do something.

Not only that, now that I am home more often, I've noticed increasing numbers of ants marching through the house. One of the main attractions for these tourist ants is a large exhibit called "Cat Food Bowl," which is a realistic-looking bowl full of real cat food. The ants bring exceptionally large groups of friends to see it.