The Barn Burner

With no one doing laundry at 3:30 in the morning and no loud snoring coming from Little Miss Looney Tunes downstairs, got a great night’s sleep.

First order of duty this morning was to post, to the resident’s facebook page, photos taken at yesterday’s event. After seeing issues with the clarity and sharpness of some of the 75 photos, I posted only 25 and decided to head to the cellphone store for a new phone. I’m working with an S4 – a dinosaur in this age of S8’s.

But OMG! Looking online (and btw, the blue screen is still in charge of my laptop), at the cost of a new phone, I decided blurry and a little out-of-focus isn’t so bad after all.

I’ve to first take care of this new car purchase. If there’s anything left over, it’ll go towards a new phone.

It’s been taking me a long time to do this thing – stop looking at the website of various dealers, reading service reviews on yelp, just pick a lot and purchase a car, so grandbaby can inherit the more reliable Saturn and give her less reliable PT Cruiser to her brother.

I thought I was stalling because it’s so hard to let go of the Saturn, and that I think is partly the problem. However, in reading Margaret's post on personality types I think the other part of the problem is I’m Over 70 Type -- confused (True because I’m not understanding a lot I’m reading on what’s included as part of the package on a new car and not exactly sure what I need to add) and a Techie Type -- looking at websites, not really wanting to call and talk to a salesman or set foot on a lot and deal with a salesman in person.

So, what to do about moving forward and getting it done?

I called my daughter. She’s going to take a day off from work and walk me through the purchase.

After posting photos, reading blogs, the day was spent catching up on recorded television programs, simultaneously working on the counted cross stitch project, while waiting for the 3:00 Residents/Management meeting.

Heading down 10 minutes early, I glanced at my watch and saw it read 3:50.

WHAT?!

That must be wrong.

But no. Instead of 10 minutes early, I was 50 minutes late.

A major senior moment?

Walking in, taking a seat in a packed room, with everyone seeming to be talking at the same time, someone whispered in my ear, “You missed it”.

“What did I miss?”

The resident who’d opened the nail salon had just “gone off”. Saying that the women here are rude to her – but not exactly saying it, more like yelling I’m told, that she walks past some of the female residents, says good morning, good afternoon, they don’t respond, then Nail Lady stood up and gave the finger to the group.

Complex Manager was said to have told her to calm down.

Wow!

In the six years I’ve lived here, I’ve only experienced people not responding to my being friendly twice. The former Community Manager (Nurse Ratched) would look down her nose and not respond to my smiles and waves, and it wasn’t until recently when Little Miss Looney Tunes began responding to my smiles and waves. 

The fact that Nail Lady is making a federal case about being ignored, going ballistic over women not being friendly, causes me to think twice about her mental stability. That perhaps she came in under that same County Program that brought to us Little Miss Looney Tunes.

I don’t imagine giving the group the finger is going to help her business get off the ground any and, though I’ve been friendly with and supportive of Nail Lady’s business, I’ll be giving her a wide berth from now on.

Also, I’m told I missed Community Manager being so upset with residents that she said there will no longer be a Residents Volunteer Activity Committee (RVAC). She's disbanded the group and said any activities residents want will have to go through her in future.

Her reason being -- not enough residents show up for Committee meetings, not enough residents make use of the Community Room on a daily basis, residents bullying other residents in the Community Room.

The RVAC Meetings are boring -- I rarely sit in, and who in their right mind would want to sit in the Community Room every single day? Some residents are infirmed and can't get to the Community Room, other residents aren't the socializing type, and some of us have television shows to watch, needlepoint projects, computers, a life. And management is well aware of who the two bullies are, so why not just deal with them directly?

Management would not discuss the pit bull. When the topic was raised, Community Manager was said to have responded, “We’re not discussing that”.

Someone wanted to know about the huge Sheep Dog spotted on the property. “Are they moving in with that dog?”

“They were shopping”, replied Community Manager. “You understand what shopping is ... because this is a beautiful property.”

I didn’t know what "shopping" meant, but kept quiet because I didn’t want to show my ignorance in a room full of people.

Apache later explained “shopping” meant the people with the sheep dog were walking around, checking out the premises.

“Well, if they're checking out the premises, that means they’re looking to move in here with that giant dog”, said I.

“Yes, but they’ll never let them move in with a dog that big”.

I don’t know. They let in a pit bull.

At any rate, after the meeting ended and Community Manager went back to her office, the President of the RVAC said, “The Committee is not disbanded, we’re still having it”.

In the room a total of 20 minutes, I soaked up a lot of negativity and left with a headache.

I’m thinking the senior moment I had -- arriving 50 minutes late, was the Universe protecting me from experiencing a brain aneurysm from soaking up the entire 60 minutes, and I imagine I'll be spending a lot more time in my unit, less in the Community Room with the folks, because there's a universal craziness in the world right now, some of which is having an impact on this community and the individuals who live and work here.