Déjà Vu

Met a new character for the blog at today’s management sponsored Thankful Celebration — let’s call her Negative Nelly because she had something to say about everything and mostly negative comments which I found witty and mostly true.

In spite of my seeing her out and about only recently, she’s not new to the complex — been here 2 years said she and only began coming out recently.

Finding her interesting and funny, I invited her to join us for bingo.

Apple Pie and Hot Apple Cider turned out to be hot and fresh individual KFC boxed meals — chicken, slaw, mac and cheese, a biscuit and gravy, along with individual boxed pies and sodas instead of apple cider.

None of the residents were complaining. It was a good spread.

As for why management is all of a sudden being so good to us, I haven’t a clue, but the new Complex Manager (No. 10) gave a speech welcoming us to the event that alluded to the reason being reconciliation.

She said something about things having gotten off to a rocky start, that she had to make some changes, fix things that should have been fixed long ago, yada yada yada, but that she wants what’s best for us.

So, evidently, a lot has been going on that I’m not aware of.

Seems I’m the only clueless senior around here because a topic came up that somewhat surprised me but should not have because, not three days ago, I had one of those premonitions.

I may or may not have mentioned somewhere in the blog that I recently began seeing a sketchy looking guy going in/out of the unit wherein resides the neighbor living downstairs below Next-Door Neighbor’s unit.

Based on his appearance, I was on guard about him until I realized there appeared to be a wife and two kids with him — a little boy and little girl, which made him safe in my eyes.

I figured they were living here surreptitiously (ghost tenants) out of need and didn’t have a problem with it.

People are struggling, and they wouldn't be the first and only ghost tenants we have residing here, but my philosophy is live and let live. So as long as what others do does not impact me, I don't care.

The family has been keeping such a low profile — kids inside most of the time, except I've seen the little boy take out the trash, I figured no one would notice ........ except parking their van in the same visitor spot, and leaving the van parked backwards when one of the rules is to pull in, not park backwards, is not smart. I figured that alone was going to draw attention sooner or later.

So, anyway, not three days ago I had a scenario type premonition where, all of a sudden, for no reason, I imaged management asking me who in my building had small children living with them.

I saw myself lie, say I haven’t seen any small children.

In the scenario, I then thought about warning that neighbor that management was on to them, but then knowing how stupid and ignorant people can be, thought better of warning her, because too often in real life, when something is revealed to me either as a premonition or otherwise and I alert the individual involved, my trying to help has been misconstrued as being involved, wishing something bad on them or, in this case, might be seen as having been the one to have turned them in because, like I said, people are stupid, ignorant.

So anyway, it was Déjà Vu today, when Painted Rock Lady, sitting at my table, turned to me and out of the blue said, "Shirley, who in your building has small children living with them?"

It wasn’t management asking, as the premonition had suggested, it was a neighbor and not just PRL because when I played like Sgt Schultz, from Hogan’s Heroes, said "I know nothing", Negative Nelly weighed in and said something about everyone knows.

It's just a matter of time before someone snitches to management but, inasmuch as that premonition warned me I’d be blamed should I try to help that neighbor by letting her know people are on to her and the family living with her, I’ll be staying out of it and let the chips fall where they may.

Before the event was over, No. 10 had us go around, say what we are thankful for.

I hate that and would have escaped, gone back to my unit, if I could have before things reached that point, but couldn't without bringing attention to myself.

The only other time that happened was when I'd been relocated to San Diego as the result of the law firm going through a merger.

I was lucky to have kept my Los Angeles salary, when others relocated to the San Diego branch were downgraded to San Diego salaries, which was half what we had been making. I was also lucky to have a decent enough boss and coworkers, but I was still bitter because the San Diego branch was filled with racists and I didn't like where I was living.

So, when a group of friends I'd developed were at lunch and Suzie wanted us to go around the table, say what we were thankful for, I said, "The Universe took me away from a job I enjoyed, an apartment I loved, and I'm just soooo thankful. Thank you so so much".

I was, of course, being facetious, venting, but they did ask.

So, others at today's event went all mushy gushy with being thankful for family, friends. Some were thankful for having a nice place to live, friendly neighbors. Some kiss asses were thankful for management, and one was thankful for the donor that gave her son-in-law a new heart last week. All the while, all I could think of was being thankful for cheap rent.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how one looks at it, that's not what came out of my mouth when it was my turn, I said, "I'm thankful that I don't look my age".

Fact, safe to say, no mushy gushy involved.