Gift Horse

I heard through the grapevine that, even though Activity Director quit last week, tomorrow’s Pizza Tuesday is still a thing because a new Activity Director has been hired.

That was quick, which makes me think Activity Director played right into her mean boss’s hands by quitting. Mean Boss probably had someone in mind she wanted in the position — a friend or acquaintance, as insecure people in management positions almost always push current staff out, build a staff around themselves that is loyal only to them, as a way of protecting their incompetence from being outed.

I may have to do a walk-through tomorrow just to get a glimpse of the new hire.

Other than that, no longer having access to the Activity Calendar, I’ve no idea what’s scheduled for the seniors this month.

Yesterday, Sunday, was laundry day. So, while in the Laundry Room, I checked the community board and saw my latest work — the flyers that annoyed me into bringing out my Anne Marie cursing side, had been published.

To avoid confusing the seniors that had already received copies of the first flyer, the Baker posted the old and the new side-by-side to make certain it was understood there’d been a change.

Good idea. No one else needs their brains to be as scrambled as mine had been in completing that simple project, and I’ll be flabbergasted if the Usual Suspects actually get up/out to play bingo 10:15 in the morning.

I myself may have to get up/out, just to peek in, see if they do.

I was looped into a text message thread yesterday, where members of the High Table are on a hunt for birthdays to celebrate — naming residents they were planning a cake party for, asking members to provide birthdays of residents that might have been missed, so they too could be celebrated.

It used to be that birthdays were celebrated by month — one cake would be brought out during the snack break at bingo, those in attendance would be asked to stand if their birthday fell within that month, the attendees would "sing" happy birthday.

Looking at the photos recently sent for me to post to the resident’s facebook page, I noticed one cake per month has morphed into elaborate individual store bought/store decorated birthday cakes for each and wondered how the group could afford it.

I’ve since learned, "Donations", but who is doing all this donating?

So, anyway, if they’d looped me into the conversation as a way of getting my name added to the birthday list, they are out of luck, as I don’t care to have my birthday celebrated around here — I think it’s embarrassing, don’t get how the seniors enjoy being made the center of attention, having their birthday put on blast in that manner, and it all feels so phoned in …… not much feeling, especially the "singing".

For instance ……

Not only does this "singing" sound more like a death knoll, phoning it in, no feeling to it at all, it seems some don’t even know birthday boy's name, LOL.

They just want cake so, no thanks. I’ve no problem in spilling my age, but my date of birth is a state secret.

Around 6 o’clock Friday night, there was a rapid knock knock knock knock on the door.

No need to ask, "who is it?". Only one person knocks like that.

With the Talker waiting at the bottom of the stairs, Little Knock Knock ran up to drop off a gift from her Aunt H — Talker’s sister that I sat with at the fateful July 4th BBQ, where we had that High Table drama.

It's nice to be thought of, but I can’t help but look this gift horse in the mouth and wonder why?

Aunt H and I only met that one time, so receiving a gift from her is a little puzzling.

The earrings are not actually my style, but I’ll of course wear them to the next patriotic themed event …… whenever that is, to make her feel the gift is appreciated should our paths cross again.

When it occurred to me that I was looking a gift horse in the mouth, I wondered where did that phrase came from?

Mr. Google says, "The saying ‘Don't look a gift horse in the mouth’ means you shouldn't be critical or ungrateful when receiving a gift or favor, even if it's not exactly what you wanted. It emphasizes the importance of appreciating the gesture and the giver's thoughtfulness, rather than focusing on the gift's perceived value or flaws".

"The idiom originates from a time when horses were commonly used and their age and health were often determined by examining their teeth. To inspect the teeth of a gift horse would be considered rude and unappreciative, implying that you are more concerned with the horse's worth than the kindness of the giver. Essentially, it's equivalent to saying ‘beggars can't be choosers’".

Wrong Day

Notices went out yesterday, to those of us who are not supported by the County that, effective September 1, rent is increased an additional $74.

That’s not too terrible awful, so no complaints from me; however, it reminded me to check my balance in the Rent Café account I’d opened separate and apart from my regular bank.

Speaking of Rent Café, thanks to my following up (with the office, who in turn followed up with Corporate) on SoCalFifi’s comment that "According to Mr. Google 'California Civil Code § 1947.3: prohibits landlords from requiring tenants to pay rent only by electronic means'", there has been no more mention of Rent Café, no more pushing the program on us, no more coming up with ways and means to force us to sign up.

Now that the office, by getting rid of the drop box to force us into Rent Café, only to find, by law, they have to accept checks, the office has essentially created more work for itself, rather than less; a cluster you know what, because of the chaos of so many bombarding the office on the 1st of the month, trying to pay rent on time to avoid being saddled with a late charge.

To alleviate the crush of residents all showing up on the same day, the office has now even had to extend the grace period to the 7th of each month before late charges begin to apply.

If, in the end, it all gets too much for the office, and they reopen the drop box, I’m cancelling Rent Café and going back to dropping off checks.

So, anyway, after checking the Rent Café account this morning, seeing the account could use an injection, I choose today to get up/out into the world of people, get it done.

Plan was to kill several birds with one stone — drive to Sprouts market for items not available locally, withdraw cash from my bank a few doors down, drive over and deposit into the Rent Café bank a few miles away, pick up cleaning products from Lowe’s in that area, treat myself to a Venti Half Caf Americano at the Starbucks in that same area, head back home.

That plan fell apart.

After loading Sprouts groceries into the car, I walked over to the bank and was greeted with a line so long that I almost couldn’t get inside the doors.

Wrong Day, I uttered out loud, as I turned around, headed back to the car.

It hadn’t occurred to me that today is Friday which, for one reason or another, is the busiest banking day.

It would have been nice to get banking off my bucket list today, not have to drive out of the area again any time soon but, so long as I get it taken care of in the next 30 days, the Rent Café account won’t run dry.

So, banking out of the plan, I headed to Lowe’s where I found Halloween, or as Debra puts it “Augtober” has begun.

After Lowe’s, it was Starbucks and then back to the complex where I get a text message from the Baker asking me to redo the flyers for August bingo, because the time is changing from 12 noon to 10:15 in the AM due to the office closing at 2:00 on both dates she’d originally had me print flyers for.

Jesus F___ing Christ!

These ever-changing flyers!

Shake, Rattle, Roll

At 9:35 this morning, as I was working on a project for the Baker, the building began to shake, the patio windows and glassware in the unit began to rattle, the couch began to roll.

I began holding onto the laptop for dear life, as the realization hit EARTHQUAKE!!!

I’ve experienced earthquakes plenty times before and, as the building actually moved (not just my building but reports are other buildings as well), this one scared me to where the blood in my body rushed to my head, leaving me even more lightheaded than I’ve normally been lately. So, it had to be much stronger than 3.0 reported.

On the other hand, looking at the earthquake map, the quake may have felt stronger because it looks like we were in the epicenter.

Considering it’s like being in the eye of the storm, we here at the complex have been lucky — buildings still standing, insofar as I know, and only one aftershock felt by me.

Having survived this morning’s quake, I’m not so sure I’m going to survive the Baker’s latest project.

It was just last week when I’d posted she’d asked me to do flyers for a "Labor Day party on September 5 with bingo" well in advance of September’s Labor Day.

For clarification I asked, "Is it bingo or is it a party?"

"Bingo and party, we just don't want to put party on the flyer because then we will have like 60 people coming".

Still not entirely clear, but I worked it out as "Labor Day Bingo", completed and delivered flyers.

So tell me why did I get a text message from the Baker yesterday asking me to do a flyer for Labor Day.

"Didn’t we already do Labor Day?" asked I.

"Yes", but change the date from the 5th to the 8th and label it "party".

WTF?

Who’s on first?

So, as it stands today — 32 days well in advance of September 1st Labor Day, the High Table is planning a "Labor Day Party" (no mention of bingo this time) on Friday, September 5.

I have a feeling that, with so many days for the Baker to rethink the plan, today might not be the end of Labor Day flyers.

Other than that, I did learn from the Baker that the Activity Director quit her job.

Unless someone in the office does the pick-up and delivery back to the complex, or unless and until a new Activity Director is hired, that may very well be the end, after all these years, of Pizza Tuesday — free whole boxed pizzas donated to the seniors.

As for why Activity Director quit …… it has something to do with a manager. But surprise …… not our manager, the one everyone seems to dislike, but her new manager at the agency through which Corporate has contracted Activity Director's services.

Activity Director reported to the seniors that she was "having a really hard time with the new boss, and she just could not take any more how that woman was treating her", so she resigned.

Having gone through the ringer my own self while in the working world, I get it, but I personally think that, though difficult to deal with crazy bosses, quitting is not the way through.

Water Water Everywhere Nor Any Drop to Drink

Long story short, I ended up in the ER around midnight Wednesday.

After 15 minutes on the treadmill, 5 minutes on the cross trainer, an additional 10 minutes on the treadmill that morning, I pulled out the yoga mat for a cool down stretch and suddenly felt lightheaded/dizzy when I got into the downward facing dog position.

Not all that unusual. Despite staying hydrated with copious amounts of water and a little Pedialyte (which btw tastes awful), I frequently feel lightheaded these days.

So, brushing the sensation off, I lay in the corpse position —flat on my back, and relaxed until I felt good to go.

Some time during that same day, I became aware of being a little wobbly on my feet and began feeling a sharp pain radiating down my left arm.

Some days are better than others, work through it, I said to myself.

Along about bedtime, pain in the left arm now killing me, a rapid BP rise, something told me to Google "heart attack in women".

Pressure, squeezing, or fullness in the chest — NO
Pain that radiates to the arm, back, neck, or jaw — YES
Shortness of breath — YES and NO
Nausea or vomiting — NO
Fatigue — YES and NO
Dizziness or lightheadedness — YES
Sweating — NO
Indigestion — NO
Anxiety — NO
Palpitations — NOT SURE WHAT THAT WOULD FEEL LIKE

Erring on the side of caution, I called Twin 1 (who lives in the adult building next door to the complex) and, when she answered said, "Don’t panic, stay calm, I need you to come get me, take me to emergency. I think I’m showing signs of a heart attack".

I was fast tracked at the medical center and the EKG showed that, inspite of my hard as nails exterior, I do still have a heart and it was "fine".

That being the case, I was ready to head back home, but Twin 2 wheeled me into a chest x-ray ("wheeled", because BP was up to 163 by now, causing me to feel wobbly on my feet).

After that, I was wheeled over to wait for blood draw but, heart attack was my only concern, and having been told it wasn’t that, I was ready to leave.

So, against her will, I made Twin 2 drive me home, close to 2 a.m., where I went to bed knowing I wasn’t likely to die in my sleep from a heart attack, even though I still had that pain in the arm.

Twin 2 thinks it's dehydration yet again and, on Thursday, had Instacart deliver electrolyte sports drinks to my door.

Water Water Everywhere Nor Any Drop to Drink, because, not only do I not have space to store all this water but, after researching the drinks, I learned I’d be curing one problem by creating a worse one — the mother of all gut episodes, because the "natural fruit" ingredient in the 2 mango flavored Electrolit, 2 fruit punch flavored Electrolit, 4 grape flavored Powerade Zero, 7 grape flavored Powerade Zero are not fodmap safe.

Water Water Everywhere Nor Any Drop to Drink, except the 8-gallons of Pure Life distilled electrolyte is listed as safe.

Twin 2 meant well, went through quite a bit of expense, and I hate to tell her I couldn’t and didn’t drink any of the flavored ones. In fact, if she doesn’t ask, I’m not saying, but what to do with the drinks?

I texted head of the High Table — the Baker, "I’ve been gifted with quite a lot of flavored sports electrolyte drinks that my sensitive gut won’t allow me to drink. Do you think they can serve as prizes on the bingo table?"

"Yes, I bet they will love them".

Bingo is today, so I snuck them down to the bingo table just a little while ago, before the room got all peopley.

Today, I'm feeling a little tired, like I'm not getting enough sleep, which I'm probably not what with staying up late watching chinese dramas in bed on the laptop, but the pain in the arm has finally subsided, so today is business as usual.

No News is Good News

I’m still here, still alive, just quiet because there’s been nothing to blog about.

My only contact with any of the residents was Saturday, when Next Door Neighbor, having not seen nor heard me going in/out in some time, knocked on the door to see if I was okay and yesterday, when taking out the trash I ran into Little Knock Knock.

She gave me a hug and, when I asked if she was sad all her summer fun here was ending that she’d be going back to school, she uttered a woeful "yes".

Baker texted yesterday, asking me to do flyers from next month’s bingo and a flyer for a "Labor Day Party" to be disguised as "bingo" because "we don’t want to announce it to everybody".

Labor Day isn’t until Monday, September 1 and we’re still in July, so I don’t understand working so far in advance, but whatever. I’ll of course help the community by doing the flyer, but is it bingo or a party asked I.

"It’s a party, but we just don’t want to put party on the flyer because then we will have like 60 people coming".

Even though the 4th of July BBQ had been moved inside to limit attendees — exclude the homeless/random residents and was a great success (except for Upstairs Lady pissing me off) — I thought that no one, among the 50 or so attendees, that the High Table did not want to be there showed up but, evidently, I was wrong. The High Table wants to limit attendees even further, must have specific targets in mind.

I don’t know who it is they want to exclude this time (though I suspect one may be Judy), but seems to me that instead of all this subterfuge as payback for some grievance, it would be better to be up front about it ... just let the person or persons know they are not wanted and why.

I think Judy because, as previously posted, Judy pissed off the Baker in one or more of the bingo sessions and instead of speaking up for herself as I had suggested, the Baker, as usual, internalized her anger, got others involved, now she and her High Table Squad are ganging up to shut Judy out as payback for the disrespect.

Good luck with that because Judy doesn’t read the room very well or at all, wouldn’t know she’s not wanted. So, all this subterfuge is for naught. If she sees an event, Judy will barge right in.

So, anyway, not my problem. I did the subterfuge flyer.

The office will be closed Labor Day, so the High Table is planning for Friday, September 5.

I won’t be attending.

Other than that, it’s been business as usual for me — working on that never ending needlepoint project, trying to catch up on recorded TV programs, walking on the treadmill, building up my endurance on the step climber, and my latest obsession — viewing (on the laptop) Chinese Dramas with Engish translations.

In the background of a fight scene on Trainer’s Instagram, I caught a glimpse of the treadmill. He’s moved it yet again. This time it’s up front, by the entrance door, in an area that used to be where his desk was.

Not ideal as still there is no privacy, but a workable spot with a view of the outside, fighters behind rather than in front. A work out station I’d not have been as opposed to as I was to being pushed into a corner by the sink and bathroom, but too late now. I’m currently happy with the in-home set up.

The coffee bar had muffins last week — blueberries and walnut.

Rumor is there might be Strawberry Muffins this week.

Problem Solved

Insofar as I know, not a lot has been going on last few days. The heat is pretty much keeping everyone on lockdown, so not much to glimpse through the patio window and I’ve had no desire to check into the Community Room, catch up with the Usual Suspects since the BBQ.

Nor have I had the desire to pressure myself into getting out by 9 am for the Tahirobics class.

After eons of the daily grind …… up early, get myself and the twins together, drop them off at school, make it to work on time and then, after the twins were grown, on their own, myself still having to make it to a job on time until the day I was mercifully freed from the grind through retirement, I was beginning to feel resentful of having to pressure myself, in these Golden Years, into another early morning schedule — this time just to keep my body from deteriorating, stay somewhat fit.

There’s just has to be an easier way, thought I.

Researching nearby senior centers, I found no activities that made me want to drive to, engage with other people.

The gym in the strip mall next to Ralphs Market, adjacent to Starbucks, has always been a viable option. I’d looked into it years ago, before I found Trainer but, at that time, it was just opening, and it turned me off that memberships were aggressively being pushed before the gym had gotten its act together.

Now there’s a pool, exercise classes, tons of equipment.

The classes offered looked to be the same as that covered by Tahirobics — at $10 a pop as opposed to the cost of a gym membership, plus Tahirobics is medium impact, safer for my body than the high impact workouts the gym offered.

Inasmuch as the only equipment I was likely to take advantage of at the gym was the treadmill, it didn’t seem worth the expense of a membership, plus again there’s the issue of my currently not wanting to be around a lot of people, but the tour gave me an idea as to how I could safely walk and strength train, on my own time, in an atmosphere free of others.

Problem solved.

My own home gym station — air conditioned, open 24/7, a cross trainer for full body workout, a foldable portable treadmill, and there’s even a coffee bar.

So, if anyone is looking for me, you’ll find me snug as a bug in a rug, working out in my in-home bunker unless and until people no longer so easily get on my last nerve, and it's safe to once check in on Community Room activities, engage with the outside world.

In other news …… not my creations, but good on those who created.