What Had Happened Was

Friday the 13th was a good day for me, because I got a hug from this fine-looking young brother and didn’t mind the hug not one bit.

What had happened was …… while playing bingo, I observed him running back and forth to the truck, loading his arms with packages, running all over the complex delivering, nonstop for well over an hour.

Observing how hard he was working, when we had a break, I took some of our goodies out to him — cookies, fresh hot popcorn, a soda and bottled water.

He was so thankful that he threw his arms around me and gave me a big old hug.

So, though I didn’t have a bingo win, I got the best prize.

I bet all the ladies are going to start running goodies out to good-looking delivery guys from now on.

Yesterday’s bingo was my first opportunity, in the last two weeks, to interact with any of the residents.

I’ve not been intentionally avoiding anyone. It’s just the way the last two weeks worked out, with the exception of Next-Door Neighbor — who btw, wasn’t the least bit unnerved by Mr. Warty Pumpkin (thanks Linda for that description). She said she took one look at it, thought to herself "There she goes again" and that was that.

I’ll have to try harder next year with a creepy clown faced pumpkin.

We had a full house in the Community Room, with lots of new people and a visitor or two.

Dream Lover was absent, as was Her Hautiness/Boebert, his latest paramour.

The group that showed was loud, raucous, out-of-control.

Painted Rock Lady hasn’t been feeling well enough to take on the role of Caller, so the job was split between Red Light and the Baker.

Red Light was visibly thrown off by the rowdiness, but never squeezed the hen of silence to quiet the room.

She’s great at talking behind people’s back, but is otherwise a coward, doesn't want to ruffle feathers.

When the Baker took her turn as Caller, she kept imploring the room to please quiet down so she could call numbers and hear winners call back their numbers.

The room ran ragged over her as, no less than a half a dozen times did the Baker pause the play, stand up and beg the room to quiet down …"Use your inside voices", only to be ignored.

Finally, I got up and took control of the hen, saying "You two don’t want to be perceived as mean. I don’t have a problem with it" and I began squeezing the hen directly in people’s faces until they shut the hell up.

Thinking back on it, I’ll not be taking charge of the hen again because, if Red Light and the Baker won’t stand up for themselves, take charge, take control, squeeze the hen at least, then f%^k them.

I just can't respect the way the two let people walk all over them — like the time the Black Witch was acting up. Red Light ran from her, the Baker tried to make herself invisible; and when the BW came for me and I told her "I don't respond to bullies. You picked the wrong one today", Red Light and the Baker kept shushing me, urging me to let the BW go unchallenged. In other words, be a woozy like them.

Much as I like the Baker, I gotta say I lost a lot of respect for her that day.

So, anyway, getting caught up on what intel I’ve missed, I learned management is continuing to take things away from us. This time it’s the Laundry Rooms.

The machines in the Laundry Room across the grassy knoll — the room I retreated to when the one in my building had a lizard in it, are inoperable; and because the equipment is down, management has locked up that Laundry Room.

Two machines in my building’s Laundry Room have been reported to management as out-of-order.

Management told those residents reporting, that it is the residents' responsibility to contact the service provider.

In addition, management said that, because they are having too many problems with the company they hired to service the Laundry Room equipment, they are looking at not only getting rid of that company, but getting rid of the laundry rooms altogether ………… because "it’s getting to be too expensive".

That news stunned me, but I won’t be all that surprised if management carries through with that plan to shut down Laundry Rooms completely, send us out into the wild to find coin-operated laundromats.

I also learned why it is that Activity Director’s calendar just indicates "HALLOWEEN" on Tuesday the 31st and there are no Halloween events ……… period.

There are five Tuesdays in this month of October. Activity Director is contracted to work no more than four Tuesdays per month, so she won’t be here on the 5th Tuesday …… the 31st.

According to what Activity Director told Red Light, she tried to switch one of her Tuesdays with the 31st, so she could be here, set something up for us, but the company she is hired through would not allow it.

I dunno, but it’s possible.

As far as any other management sponsored events ……… "The budget won’t allow for it. There is no money in the budget for events until Christmas" is what we're being told.

Strange, since management raised the rent in July. Not to mention, my recertification comes up next week — "Recertification" being management’s opportunity to get all up in my ass, dig into my personal financial business, to make certain I’m still poor enough to continue to lease a unit here.

I’ve already received the paperwork, which includes notice that, when I reup, my rent will increase an additional $110 …… and it's not just me. It's all of us not supported by the County.

Even Red Light, who is supported by the County, is worried. Saying that when management increases the County's share, the County then increases the residents' share, and that some on the County role here are already having difficulty making their share.

So where are all these increases going?

The money is not going into repairs, certainly not into events because management says there’s not enough money in the budget for events; we can’t use the refrigerator in the Community Room, and now there’s a possibility we’ll be doing without Laundry Rooms.

So I ask again …… where is the money collected from all these increases going?

There’s no one we can complain to — Corporate doesn’t care and I'm guessing management’s line is, "If you don’t like it, then move".

So, what we’re getting for these increases is the privilege to not live on the streets, have a roof over our heads, but no events, no refrigerator in the Community Room and possibly no Laundry Rooms in the future. Just a roof over our heads.

Oh well, it is what it is.

Speaking of the Community Room refrigerator — I’d previously blogged that, when the Inspectors were on the premise, management took down all those signs indicating we are not to use the refrigerator.

I kept forgetting to see if the locks were also removed.

Remembering to check yesterday, I walked into the kitchen and it looks like management removed the bottom key entry part.

Then

Now

Lazy as they are, having to lock and unlock probably got to be too much effort for them.