What is the best way to take the sting out of a centipede bite?

I’ve heard of the “Hawaiian centipede” packing a wallop of a sting, but never experienced it until last night.

I’d been sleeping for about an hour when I felt a sensation above my toe similar to being stung by a portugese man-o-war or wasp. (Sadly, I’ve been bitten by both). I’ll save you all the details, but it actually bit me three times and after I failed to kill it the first time around, it returned a second time.

This time, I managed to scoop it up and do away with it, but even this morning the sting is still there.

I washed the bite area with soap and water and iced it, feeling fortunate I’m not allergic to the stings.
But is there a better way to treat centipede bites? Why are they so aggressive?

We’re on the 10th floor of our condo complex, which is sprayed for bugs every few months. Where it came from, how long it’s been there, are there more … those are all questions I’d like answered before my head hits the pillow tonight.

How do you cope with centipedes and their bites?

I’ve always contended that if you’re going to work an overnight shift there’s no place better than Hawaii to do it.
Spend the night working, spend the days on the golf course, at the beach or on a hiking trail.
Last week was my first trip to Vegas since I started burning the midnight oil, and having gotten used to being up all night, the all-night poker games were a little easier and the marathon gambling sessions a little longer.
I love Vegas. My girlfriend and friends spent much of the time shopping and looking for cool places to eat. They just dropped me off at the poker tables and away they went.

Some friends from Tacoma and Seattle didn’t even make it to the tables, spending the days at the MGM river pool and the nights in the clubs.

I should have done the same, but I think I’ve finally accepted the real Vegas motto: What money you bring to Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Still, Vegas is the one place on the Mainland where you can leave Hawaii and never feel like you’ve left home.

Our waiter at the Studio Cafe in the MGM was from Kalihi, the resident manager at the timeshare we stayed at was from Kaneohe and the bus driver was also from here.
Downtown, we gambled next to a Big Island family, heard some ladies from somewhere on Oahu shouting at the roulette table and tossed dice at Main Street with some locals at 6 a.m. (Maybe 7. It’s a blur).
For as many Hawaii residents who go there, has anyone else noticed how dead downtown is nowadays at 3 a.m.?

Is the economy starting to affect the city of light’s, too?

Also, if you were there last weekend and noticed Las Vegas Boulevard being shut down for a few hours overnight, did you know it was for Dwayne Johnson’s new movie  “Escape to Witch Mountain”?

We sat on the overpass and watched as the cars sat motionless for what seemed to be hours, then they’d slowly drive through to the stop light and do it over again.
The one thing I didn’t do on this trip was get to Hugo’s Cellar in the Four Queen’s Casino.
Everyone has a favorite Vegas place to eat and this is mine. You can find a $5 table upstairs and then walk into the cellar for the best steak Vegas has to offer. It is a hidden, high class gem.
I’m always looking for Vegas’ little secret hideouts. Anyone got any tips to share on where to eat if you’re up all night?

Where do you like to go, and stay, in the city that never sleeps?

Admit it, no matter how old you get, no matter how far away you move, a part of you will always be a momma’s boy or girl at heart.

I have no problem owning up to that, particularly on Mother’s Day.

I haven’t lived in the same city as my folks since 1989 and I left our homestate in 1996, but in some ways I’m closer to my mom and dad than I’ve ever been.

Maybe it’s because as you grow older you can appreciate what they went through for you growing up. Technology has made it so much easier for kids to spread their wings and fly and yet never be further than a plane ride away from home.

And email? It is my personal conduit to back home.

There is a sort of comfort in knowing that every day at about 2 a.m. here in Honolulu I know I can check my earthlink account and there’ll be a message from my mom back home in North Dakota.

If I tell her I’m going for a bike ride, like I did earlier this week, the next email will include a safety tip to “be careful.” If I’m looking at buying a house, the next email will include all the pitfalls: “There’s insurance. Garbage. Electric bills. Taxes … it’s not like renting you know …”

Most of the time it’s nothing but an extended hello just to let me know they’re ok: “Nothing happening here. Dad is going golfing and I played cards with the girls. Lost 35 cents. We’re going for a walk and then to Don’s for supper … the kids next door came over. God, are they handful. They jump all over the place. If you had done that …”

Straight and to the point. What else could you ask for from a mom’s email?

So reliable are these daily e’s that not having one show can only mean one of two things: a) I haven’t called lately so she’s being stubborn, therefore I have to call — which is similar to having to restart a computer; or B) Something is wrong, in which case I need to call immediately.

Fortunately, the latter rarely occurs.

My mom may kill me for doing this, but since it’s Mother’s Day I thought I’d share part of her latest email. I always get a kick out of them. I hope you do, too:

“It’s snowing! The ground is white, can you believe it on the 10th of May? We got an invitation to Maureen’s daughter’s graduation open house next Sunday. Chris called from Texas yesterday man her & Scott are doing well. I was thinking about the day you were learning to ride that little two-wheel bike with no training wheels. I think we spent the whole morning giving you a pushes up & down the sidewalk but you got it mastered.
luv u mom”

Happy Mother’s Day. Feel free to share your own stories and memories here.

I’m off the midnight shift for the rest of the week, as usual.

Since I work one day shift a week on Wednesdays, I have one of the most eclectic jobs in the newsroom.

One day it’s a traffic story, another day it’s about saving a dog, and today it was all about the Hawaiian Kingdom Government taking over the Iolani Palace grounds.
I don’t get into sides on these issues, but I appreciate the passion and beliefs that people stand up for. It ended peacefully, which was probably the best news of all.

* * *

Diet update: I (heart) Country Cafe is great for dieters. Brown rice, greens and furikake salmon or mahi. I need to be more Cat-like and start taking photos of these dishes.

After the long stand off today my big meal was at Karen’s Kitchen — brown rice, salad and mahi. Of all the great food over there I think this may have been the healthiest choice, and to me that’s an A-plus of a baby step.

Exercise-wise, played a little basketball after work yesterday, biked and did 35 minutes on the illiptical machine.

Bottom line, I know weight loss is slow but I’m tackling this about as head-on as you can.

I know “patience is a virtue” and “good things come to those who wait,” but if I were to gain weight after all this I’d make up my own fortune cookie and it would read something like this: “Eat what you will, because sometimes, you’re just screwed.”

* * *

Spike’s Ultimate Fighter is on tonight. I think it’s the best of the reality shows, next to the Deadliest Catch, of course.

Having Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin as the coaches was a stroke of genius by Dana White. It’s the best matchup of coaches since Randy Couture and Chuck Liddle in the show’s first season.

I’m a Rampage fan. You? Feel free to vent your UFC thoughts here, because I love this sport.