Outage

I was on the laptop yesterday, around 1:30 in the afternoon, watching a reborn to revenge kDrama entitled "My stepsister killed me, so I stole her billionaire boyfriend".

Don’t judge by the silly name, those kDramas are addictively good.

I was just at an on the edge of my seat part where both the reborn heroine and the billionaire boyfriend were in serious jeopardy when the movie shut down because the internet went out.

BLACKOUT!!!

Fortunately, it wasn’t a complete power outage — power in the unit was still on, but the internet and television were mysteriously unavailable remainder of the day.

Waking up this morning, I saw service to both had been restored, but I’ve not yet had time to get back to the movie.

The blackout turned out to have been "area wide", with no explanation as to what had occurred.

The outage made for a quiet day, as I worked on making a mini drawstring bag for the Alert device.

Took four 30-minute tries before I successfully created a workable pouch to match my kente cloth buff headband.

Now knowing what I’m doing, it only took 20 minutes this morning to knock out a pouch that matches a pair of leggings.

When I remember where I stored the camo and denim fabric, I’ll make pouches to match corresponding outfits. I’ll probably also make a black pouch for when I need a neutral look to match what I’m wearing.

Now, I just have to find a gold chain long enough and strong enough to support the device, so I can get rid of that unglamorous rope.

All in all, even enclosed, the device seems a little too noticeable, since I'm not wearing a boho skirt which would make the colorful bag make sense. Consequently, there will be times — especially if I notice a good-looking man checking me out, when I’ll tuck the covered device, so all he sees is the gold chain I’ll eventually be adding to replace the cord.

Time got away from me on Pizza Tuesday, so I never made it down to the Community Room to babysit the seniors for Kesha, but I’m sure that by now she’s got the hang of things and has the seniors falling in line.

After two sessions of bingo were shut down due to that covid scare, bingo is back on tomorrow. Lu tells me it’s a combination of bingo and a birthday party for the Baker.

I don’t have the energy to deal with the seniors tomorrow, so I’ll pass on attending.

BTW, some weird stuff is going on with blogger .... Settings is set to "not allow search engines", buy somehow "Google search entities found" keeps popping up when I blog AND, even though I hit "Dismiss", Google is still crawling, indexing, and screwing with my readership — causing it to rise from a few hundred to thousands. I’m not comfortable with that. Are you also all of a sudden getting the "Google search entities foumd" message?

Bad for My Image

Having long enjoyed being considered the "Hot Girl" amongst us old folks, the new jewelry Twin 1 ordered is putting my image in serious jeopardy.

After looking into Will Jay’s suggestions to "design some jewelry or fiber art to hide/disguise the Life Alert device" and thus far drawing a blank, I thought maybe I’d just tuck it in.

But then Will Jay’s story about a friend’s mom setting off an accidental alert by tucking the device in her waistband got me to thinking how easily it would be for the device to get squeezed into an alert tucked in such a snug place, not to mention it sometimes gets hot in there and that alone might set off a false alarm.

Maybe I can just shorten the rope, turn the device into a choker, thought I.

Nope! That makes the device even more obvious.

I looked into exchanging the pendant for a bracelet or watch, but Life Alert only offers the option of a necklace pendant with its systems.

So, I dunno but, heading for the market today, I decided to give tucking a try.

Crossing the parking lot, I ran into Next Door Neighbor. The device, tucked inside, she never even noticed there was something attached to the rope as we chatted for a while about what a great job my boyfriend in my head Dark Gavin is doing ("Dark" because, taking a step from blog friend Dawn who, when pushed transforms into Dark Dawn, and now seeing my boyfriend transforming into a version of The Punisher, I've rewarded him with the superhero name of Dark Gavin).

I did have to be careful in placement of the car’s seat belt, because the normal position was right across the device, sure to put pressure on the button, set it off.

I had to position the belt above the device, across my throat.

I can't get a ticket for the awkward, probably unsafe, position as the law only says to wear it, and it's being worn.

While in the market, I did some bending, stooping, reaching. None of these motions seemed likely to result in an accidental alert. So, thus far, it seems tucking is the way to go.

One of the items on my marketing list was kale. I eat a lot of kale, I mean a lot, a lot and saw it today was selling $3 for two bunches, but who do they think they’re kidding.

Kale aficionado that I am, I noticed right away the price is not a bargain, that what used to be one healthy bunch at $2.50 is now selling as two slimmer bunches, i.e., the two smaller bunches at $3.00 is the same amount of kale in one bunch previously sold for $2.50, but disguised as 2 for $3.00 — $0.50 cents more.

No matter. I'll buy kale however bountiful or not the bunch, whatever price.

Not on my grocery list were these Aloha bell peppers, but they called my name. So wanting to see if they taste any different than regular bells, and because they’re pretty, I purchased two.

BTW, under the title of Work Smarter Not Harder, did you know you can dispense with hand massaging, and instead use the mixer to massage your kale.

The Thunder Rolls

I woke up this morning to rolling thunder followed by rain. A welcome relief from the unrelenting heat, generally already pushing 90 degrees in my unit by the time I wake up.

I had plans to do marketing today, but decided to make do with what’s in the house.

I did, during the week, make that run to the bank, transferred money from my regular account, deposited it into the Rent account. That done, I won’t have to think about that account for two/three months.

Even though having to physically walk into a bank is a pain, I do enjoy the bank’s riddle board.

I don’t know where they come up with the dorky riddles, but there’s a board with riddles like, "Why did the football coach go to the bank?".

The riddle on the board when I walked in on Wednesday was, "Why did the fish blush?".

I didn’t get either of those. In fact, since the board went up two years ago, I’ve only solved the puzzle once. I don’t recall what the puzzle was that day, but I guessed correctly the answer was "because the turkey had drumsticks".

So, anyway, that errand off my bucket list, the only thing remaining is to schedule an appointment at the medical center for Lab work the doctor ordered.

Twin 1 is still freaked out over the medical scare I had that sent me to the E.R. at midnight a few weeks ago. Now needing constant reassurance via text messages or telephone calls that I’ve not yet kicked the bucket, Twin 1 called Tuesday to say that in order to alleviate her worry, she’s gifting me with Life Alert, the "I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up" thing.

"Jesus! I’m not that kind of old", protested I.

However, inasmuch as she said it would make her feel less worried, I’ve agreed to accept the gift, walk around with a necklace that announces to the world I’ve crossed the threshold, am now considered an old lady.

The things we do for our kids.

Debra, over at She Who Seeks, today posted memes of our Governor mocking Donald Two Dolls.

I’m piling it on with two of my favorites thus far.

Oh, and in case you were wondering ...... Why did the football coach go to the bank?

To get his quarter back.

Why did the fish blush?

Because they saw the ocean’s bottom.

Hot and Ready

And not just the pizzas Kesha brought in this morning for the seniors.

Engrossed in my own self this morning, I nearly forgot to head down to the Community Room, check to see if Kesha was here this Pizza Tuesday.

She was just hauling pizzas out of her car as I arrived. Said she did come last Tuesday, but late. So, it was after I’d left, returned to my unit.

As Kesha was going back/forth to her car to bring pizzas in, residents began to line up at the counter in front of the pizzas.

Kesha asked that no one take a pizza until she’d brought them all in and had the sign-in sheet ready.

I stuck around to make sure the residents didn’t disrespect Kesha by doing what Kesha had been warned by Talker and Baker they would do …… run all over her, do what the heck they wanted.

I observed one male resident, at the front of the line, opening up boxes, looking to see what type was in what box.

Not good and not sanitary, but if others in the line, that were going to eat those pizzas, didn’t object, yell "HEY!!", then I wasn’t going to get involved.

Fortunately, Kesha walked in with another load of pizzas, caught the resident in the act, and read him the riot act.

Good for her, Kesha is not going to take any shit, thought I.

In fact, Kesha did not only read the resident the riot act, she told everyone to calm down, sit down until she got everything together and returned to distribute pizzas.

No one sat down.

Lu, sitting near me by the entry door, yelled out, "You guys don’t listen. She told you to sit down, so sit down".

Whereupon, Lurch, standing in line at the opposite side of the room yelled back, "You do the same thing. So don’t tell us what to do".

That started a back and forth between Lu and Lurch, during which everyone finally sat down, Lurch yelling at Lu from his now seated position.

I was laughing my ass off, visions of the South Park episode where the old people at the senior center got into a fight running through my head. It was on the tip of my tongue to yell what Cartmill had yelled …… "OLD PEOPLE FIGHT!" but I managed to rein that in and instead say, "I thought you two were friends".

"We are friends", said Lurch, "But don’t be telling us we don’t listen when I’ve seen her doing the exact same thing".

The two were still at it when a new resident walked up to the entry door. Just as I saw the person about to enter, I said, "Okay you guys. Company’s coming. Don’t let them see you acting like this", and it ended.

Kesha soon walked in, distributing pizzas began so, with my work of looking out for my homie Kesha done, I headed back to my unit, still laughing.

Over the weekend, I’d received word a Spiritual Practitioner I’d trained with (last one that I’d trained with still living) was celebrating her birthday ……… HER 106th BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Back in 2019, I blogged this Practitioner …… retired, living in Hawaii, had celebrated HER 100th BIRTHDAY!!!

One Hundred was a goal she’d set for herself.

I’d said that, even though this Practitioner looked to be in good condition for her age, that living to 100 would not be something I’d want for myself, that my goal was to be gone by age 35.

Evidently, the Universe had other plans, as I’m now 46 years over my target.

She's now living in Laguna Hills, California, and looks pretty good for being a century and six ……

However, even though she looks pretty good, living that long scares the crap out of me.

I’m hoping that, as a former student of hers, connected at a spiritual level, that whatever she has that’s giving her such a long life is not contagious, doesn't infect or affect me, cause this former student of hers to reach 100 and over.

This is she at a meditation retreat I attended in 2009.

This is she celebrating her 106th BIRTHDAY this past weekend.

I know how one of my readers likes to kid around (and you know who you are, LOL), so just to be clear, she’s not the blonde, she’s pictured lower left.

Fire and Water

Management's End of Summer Fiesta, for us residents, was scheduled yesterday from 11:30 to 2 pm.

Comfortable inside, it took some effort to motivate myself into heading down to the Community Room, but I managed to talk myself into taking one for team …… snap a few photos for the residents’ facebook page, get fodder for the blog.

Arriving at 11:37, I was back in my unit at 11:48. Stayed just long enough to snap 15 photos, grab a quick gossip with Talker.

I'd expected residents to come out in droves, and was surprised by how few were in the room. Mostly, it was the Usual Suspects.

Maybe others came down later, but I doubt it. I know none of my three neighbors gave a hoot, neither did the four residents across the quad.

As for why so few, it's hard to say. There's been a general pall over everyone since Donnie Two Dolls took over. Some have retreated into themselves — don't come out, don't communicate with others, are living in their own private hell wondering what benefits will be taken away, if they haven't been taken already. Plus, we have a lot of new people — many of whom were previously homeless, placed here by the County; and I guess they are not the mingling, get to know your neighbor kind of folks.

No matter, the absences just meant there was more for those who showed up.

The menu indicated "2 items per person".

However, I later saw residents on the walkway, returning to their units after the event ended, carrying paper plates seemingly loaded with food made available because so few attended.

Dream Lover must have proved to management that he was cleared by the doctor, because he was seated and already eating when I arrived.

As was Lu and Upstairs Lady.

You could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw all three were seated together.

I pulled the Talker over to the side, said that I’d heard Lu and Dream Lover were no longer a couple.

"That’s true", said she.

"Then pray tell, why are they sitting together?"

"Oh, they’re still friends. I told her she should have left it at that from the beginning".

"Why did they break up?"

"Oh, I don’t know".

Interesting that Lu is forthcoming to both the Baker and Talker about everything else, including Dream Lover's inability to "do anything" (if you know what I mean), shared that they are no longer a couple, but won’t disclose WHY they are no longer a couple.

Hmmmmm????

And, if the two now consider themselves just friends, why is she still touching him, can’t seem to keep her hands off him, because in one of the above photos (reposted below), you can see Lu is standing, talking to Upstairs Lady, but she's holding on to his hand, like she's afraid he'll flee if she lets go of his leash.

The man is trying to eat, for God's sake!

Closeup

There was something about Dream Lover's body language, while Lu was restraining him, that made me take a closer look at his face.

That is a man who is giving irritated to the umpteenth degree, like he wants to snatch his hand away, but is stomaching the touch because he doesn't want to make her mad, is holding it all in to maintain whatever "just friends" truce they've agreed on.

I saw that same angry look on his face the day before, when he was returning from Lu's area. I also remember seeing, early on in their relationship, a time when he was heading towards Lu's unit, stopped, looked down, shoulders slumped, took a moment as though he was pumping himself up to do something he didn't want to do; and then, once the moment was over, he picked himself up and soldiered on.

I'd even blogged about seeing that moment, as it seemed so strange.

Now seeing this look in his eyes, I'm remembering how it was that his first girlfriend fled to a battered women's shelter, never to return, and I'm now guessing his whole thing is about play acting, working hard to keep his anger issues in check in order to maintain friendships here on the complex, and his image of being a nice guy.

It's difficult to be fake, to play/pretend nice, and this photo is clearly showing how it's wearing on him?

Perhaps that's why neither of the two are saying WHY they broke up.

Did he slip …… do something to Lu, like he did to the one that fled, and they've agreed to keep it to themselves, let bygones be bygones, let's just be friends from now on?

It’s kinda making sense, inasmuch as Lu is Cancer, a water sign and Dream Lover is Aries, a fire sign — water and fire does not mix.

Cancer women are emotional, like to touch, are possessive and can be controlling (No offense if you’re Cancer. I’m just stating astrological facts). Aries men are adventurous, love the chase, crave freedom, struggle with patience and sensitivity — water and fire does not mix, and I imagine it's especially difficult to work through the ying/yang of such a combination when the Aries is not just a normal Aries, but one with anger issues.

Their saga continues …… at least until he blows his top with her or he finds someone else, starts the pattern all over again.

So, anyway, I supported the event by donating 10 minutes of my time, headed back to my unit, posted the photos to facebook, after which I worked out on the treadmill.

Yesterday offering at the Coffee Bar was almond flour chocolate chip cookies.

The Week That Was

What a week this has been …… the unrelenting hot weather, a Covid scare, Lu no longer interested in continuing that kissy kissy hands all over his body relationship (that so gagged me) she had going with Dream Lover.

Speaking of which, I yesterday saw Dream Lover yet again on the walkway headed towards Lu’s unit; and, yet again, he came back down the walkway pretty quick. Only this time he looked hella angry.

Are things going to get ugly …… turn into harassment, stalking?

Time will tell.

Now I hear that, during the week, Hell on Wheels (HOW) was placed in a nursing home.

It’s temporary. She’s expected to return to the complex, but looks like it’s not going to be as soon as she had anticipated. Due to sciatica, her legs will now not allow her to stand erect, not even with the assistance of nursing home staff holding her up.

HOW has and has always had home caregivers for whatever condition that is the cause of her being in a wheelchair, but seems it was sciatica that necessitated upgrading from home care to specialized nursing home care.

I know nothing about sciatica, but I wonder if the wheel chair is what’s either causing or aggravating the condition.

At any rate, HOW asked the Baker to tend her plants until she returns, gave her a key to the unit.

Upon entering, the Baker said she was "shocked" …… there’s "stuff everywhere, the place is a mess".

"Don’t the caregivers clean?", asked I.

"I don’t think she lets them touch or move anything", said the Baker.

From what little I know of HOW, that sounds about right, and probably one of the reasons why she’s gone through so many caregivers — she’s rather spoiled, wants what she wants when she wants it the way she wants it …… do what she says no more no less, but how can she herself manage in a wheelchair with "mess" all around her?

Baker went on to say she encountered a HORDES of flies in the unit, that they seemed to congregate at and around the window, some trapped inside the screen and glass, like they were trying to get in, join the party.

She searched for bug spray, couldn’t find any but, finding Febreze, she tried to kill the inside flies with scented room spray.

LOL, I almost had tears in my eyes from laughing as I said, "You gave the flies a spa treatment".

The idea of a hordes of flies in the unit, and the congregating at a window seemed very horror movie to me, a sign of some kind. So, I later researched the phenomena: Spiritually speaking, a hoard of flies "Can symbolize negative influences, decay, or even demonic presence".

Again, from what little I know of HOW, that sounds about right. I nicknamed her Hell on Wheels for a reason.

In other news, the Covid scare seems to be over. Though I’ve not yet seen Lu and Upstairs Lady out on the walkway to say for sure how they tested, no one else who came in contact with Dream Lover last Tuesday has been reported as having testing positive.

The grapevine tells me Dream Lover himself is saying he’s been back to the emergency clinic, given the all clear, but I’m not trusting his word on that as it seems to me that he went through the episode too fast.

Twin 2 is still working herself through Covid Episode 4, but says that her friend picked up her Rx for Paxlovid, and it’s made all the difference, she fels better now (Linda in Kansas, you were right about Paxlovid).

Today is the End of Summer Fiesta, which to me seems to be premature as Summer is showing no signs of ending anytime soon. Weather next week is predicted to reach triple digits.

I anticipate everyone and their uncle will turn up for free tacos and, if Lu and Upstairs Lady don’t show, I’m going to guess they are not doing as well, after the Covid scare, as everyone else.

If Dream Lover's ban on entering the Community Room is lifted by management, and he makes an appearance, I’ll be worried for what unsuspecting resident or residents sits with him.

Dumb Women, Stupid Choices

The new Activity Director (Kesha) did not show up today, and no one knows why, not even the office knows why.

Did she quit already?

Talking with the Baker, as we waited in vain for Kesha to show, I learned that even though Management did not put out an alert that a resident tested positive for Covid, they did ban the resident (Dream Lover) from entering the Community Room.

That’s not much, but it’s something.

Does this have something to do with the Activity Director being absent today?

The way the office found out Dream Lover had tested positive and subsequently banned him was because he called for maintenance in his unit and did not tell the arriving maintenance worker until after the worker was already inside the unit — like, BTW, I have Covid.

As my mother used to say, "There is something wrong with that boy".

The maintenance worker now having to test is bad news for me because, before I put my mask on to enter the office building, I ran into that worker at the entrance and, while standing close, face to face, teased him briefly about the new lips tattoo on his neck.

So now I have to test and worry that even though I dodged a bullet and left the Community Room last Tuesday before Dream Lover entered, he still might have got me through the maintenance worker.

In fact, all of a sudden my throat hurts.

Do signs appear that quickly?

Seriously, answer on a postcard because I want to know if I’m being super paranoid.

So, anyway, I further learned today that the day Dream Lover walked into the Community Room, he did not know he had Covid, just told everyone, "I don’t feel well".

So, if you don’t feel well, why did you even come into the room, put yourself in the position of making others also not feel well, even if you didn’t know why you didn’t feel well?

There is definitely something wrong with that boy.

It was after that when Dream Lover walked to the emergency clinic down the street, was told he tested positive, RETURNED to the Community Room, gave them the news, whereupon everyone worriedly scattered.

I actually saw dumbass on the walkway yesterday afternoon, heading towards Lu’s unit. He wasn’t wearing a mask. So, had anyone passed him on the walkway, stopped to chat, he’d have exposed them.

Lu must have sent him packing, probably didn’t even open the door, because he pretty quick came back down that walkway.

As I was talking to the Baker, our voices a fairly normal low, because we were gossiping off in a corner away from everyone, Greedy Grabby was sitting at a table with friends almost clear across the room, watching us but somehow heard us say Dream Lover’s name.

I kid you not, she jumped up from the table, ran over, asked "What about M____ (Dream Lover)?".

Since it was none of her business, the Baker just said, "He’s sick". Whereupon, Greedy Grabby went into a monologue about what a nice guy he is ... he's this, that, the other, slyly throwing in at the end that, "He seems to be close to L____ (Lu)".

Maybe she thought she was being sly, but I’ve been around the block enough times to know she was on a fishing expedition …… wanting to know just how "close" Dream Lover and Lu were for her own purpose (Greedy Grabby's husband passed away three/four years ago. She's not accustomed to being without a man).

As I was thinking to myself that Greedy Grabby obviously doesn’t know Dream Lover’s history with women, that he is constantly in motion, jumping from woman to woman, I heard the Baker reply "Not anymore" to Greedy Grabby’s "He seems to be close to Lu".

STOP THE PRESSES! …… HOLD THE PHONE!

After all that kissing last month, the "My handsome man" from Lu, the "Hey, gorgeous" from Dream Lover, Upstairs Lady pissing me off over the seating arrangement so they could all sit together at the 4th of July BBQ, the love affair is now over????

The Baker said she doesn’t know the actual reason for the breakup, Lu being "too touchy, too clingy" and "other women" were words mixed into the conversation but, all in all, the Baker summed it up as, "I don't know if she got tired of him or he got tired of her", just that it's over.

Obviously, if I’m seeing him on the walkway heading for her unit, he’s not tired of her; however, if I’m seeing him turned away, it is she who is tired of him.

Greedy Grabby wasn’t privy to the conversation. As soon as the Baker said, "Not anymore", having heard just what she wanted to hear, Greedy Grabby headed back to her seat — probably to plot how to swoop in to be Dream Lover’s next girlfriend, ultimately end up another ex-girlfriend.

Dumb women, stupid choices.

Super Spreader

Nothing to see here .... partly due to the heat keeping everyone inside, A/C running 24/7.

Another reason for the deserted walkways is that those I usually spot are on lockdown, testing for Covid.

After twice testing, the Baker and her husband are negative, Talker is negative, but I’ve heard nothing back on Lu and Upstairs Lady — the two most vulnerable as they are the closest to Dream Lover, and others who came in contact with him last Tuesday.

I’d like to say I’m surprised Management hasn’t put out a bulletin, alerting residents to the situation, but I’m not surprised at all.

I’m assuming that, with no alert notices, tomorrow’s Pizza Tuesday is still on, which means Activity Director Kesha is probably going to find herself pretty much alone in the room, not knowing why.

I don’t want her to take it personally, think she’s failing already, so I’ll mask up, head down just long enough to clue her in on what’s happening.

Management has planned an End of Summer Fiesta for this coming Friday — "Event will be held in the club house. All residents are invited come have some tacos".

This is the kind of event that will bring everyone and their uncle down to the Community Room. It’s going to be over crowded, a possible Super Spreader.

I think I'm okay to mask up, run in but keep my distance from the crowd by standing halfway in/halfway out at the door, take a few pics, run out.

Twin 2 is still in the thick of it with her 4th go-round with Covid, and scared me nearly to death when she didn't respond to my text this morning asking if she was better yet.

When I followed up with a telephone call and she didn't answer, I began thinking of requesting a welfare check.

It was then I realized I didn't have a key to her apartment ... how were the welfare check people going to get in?

Both girls have keys to my place — for obvious reasons, but it never occurred to us that I might be the one to need keys to their place.

Fortunately, Twin 2 finally did respond, said her fever has not yet broken, but not feeling as bad as the first two days.

Once she gets through this, I want a key to her apartment and Twin 1's place.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe

Yesterday was my appointment with the doctor. On the way to the appointment, this happened.

That was some dangerous driving, and would have gone sideways for me, stopped at the red light, had one of those vehicles been hit by moving traffic that had the green light, causing one or more to crash into me.

I got a good look at the driver of the nazi car as he made the turn, and surprise surprise, it was a Brother, I’d say in his mid 30’s; and not a richy rich snob type Brother, but a common every day normal casual Brother, wearing a white t-shirt.

So, what was he doing driving a cybertruck?

The dangerous move was all for naught, because I knew the route the cars (looking to be a convoy of three or four), were taking would get them to where I’d soon be had they just cooled their jets, made the turn at the next intersection.

So, anyway, the doctor tells me I’m basically healthy, doing all the right things — eating healthy, exercising, but cholesterol is too high and I need to get my BP down, which was 160 when I arrived at the medical center — in spite of having taken the morning’s medication, and 163/71 after the nurse had me sit and rest for a while for a retake.

Go figure.

Doctor’s diagnosis "not diabetic, take 2 tablets for hypertension, but if BP is under 120 systolic, then take one), hydrate hydrate hydrate hydrate, lab work every six months (as they’re keeping an eye on kidneys filtrating a little slower than should)".

So, that’s that.

Today is bingo for the seniors and, after all that rigamarole over that ever-changing bingo flyer, today’s bingo is cancelled. The session scheduled for Friday the 22nd is probably also cancelled and, who knows, there may never be bingo again.

No matter to me, as I’m not involved in bingo, but a huge blow to those that are involved — organizers and participants.

As to why bingo is cancelled until further notice, I received a text from the Baker yesterday afternoon, "Someone came in the clubhouse on Tuesday with Covid, so most of us are just staying inside and testing".

F_CK!!!

I WAS IN THE COMMUNITY ROOM ON TUESDAY!!!

That was Pizza Tuesday, the morning I went down to check out the new Activity Director.

Just when you thought it was safe.

Heck, I didn’t even know Covid to be still a thing.

How are people still catching it?

Remembering how it was that Di hugged me in the Community Room that morning, and I had hugged our former Activity Director Christine, and how some of us had taken a group photo with the new Activity Director Kesha — all standing close, arms entangled, my first thought was to check on when I should begin testing. Learned that, if exposed and don’t have symptoms, wait at least 5 full days before testing but, if one develops symptoms, test immediately.

Not experiencing any symptoms, but needing to know just how worried I should be, I queried the Baker, "Was the person who brought Covid into the room someone who was in the room when I was there or came after I left" and was much relieved to find it was Dream Lover, as he was not in the room when I was there, had come later.

Fortunately, neither were Activity Director Kesha, or her new boss Christine. They headed for their cars just as I was walking out.

Unfortunately, Talker, Little Knock Knock, Lurch, Upstairs Lady, Lu, the Baker, her husband and a handful of others likely came in contact with Dream Lover.

I’m 99.99% certain I’m good but, since Dream Lover’s girlfriend Lu and best bud Upstairs Lady were in the room when I was there — even though, since I'm keeping Upstairs Lady on the does not exist list, kept my distance from her, the fact remains that both Lu and Upstairs Lady are stuck like glue to Dream Lover, so who knows which of them might have caught what. I’ll take the extra precaution of testing.

Isn’t it interesting how things sometimes turn out ……… Upstairs Lady has that little click of hers (Dream Lover, Lu, herself), a little click inside of the big click, that resulted in my moving away from the High Table at the BBQ, away from them, and now one has Covid, two are testing, all three are on lockdown.

Armageddon, Part 2

Not 10 minutes after posting yesterday about it possibly being the end of days, because I’d awaken to not knowing the cause of a power outage and the sound of sirens racing down the street, did the earth begin to move, glassware began to rattle.

It was another earthquake.

They are coming faster, closer together, but yesterday’s 3.5 did not last as long, did not cause near the same level of shaking, rattling, rolling, did not frighten me as much as last Thursday’s quake did, even though this one registered higher.

Later yesterday, I saw news on facebook, from friends that live in the area, that there had been another quake 2 hours after the earlier 3.5.

Yipes! Two in one day.

I actually did feel that second one, but took it as an aftershock, because it was so mild and so soon after the first quake.

They’re coming even faster than I could have imagined because, when I later checked online for the stats on the second quake, I learned "San Bernardino has had: (M1.5 or greater) 4 earthquakes in the past 24 hours; 17 earthquakes in the past 7 days; 52 earthquakes in the past 30 days".

GOOD LORD! WE’RE DOOMED!

Seems, even when unaware, we are living on quaking ground, still standing by the Grace of God, but for how long is anyone’s guess.

We are not the one’s causing world chaos, so why pick on us? The quakes should be happening in DC, under 1600 freaking Pennsylvania Avenue.

So anyway, power is on today, I'm hearing no sirens racing down the street, so today has thus far been okay.

In responding to Mitchell’s comment to yesterday’s post, I responded I was "taking with a grain of salt" that I’m getting signs of being appreciated. Some of you seemed to enjoy when I provide the history of old phrases … what The Misadventures of Widowhood calls "word and phase histories", so I looked this latest idiom up.

"The idiom likely originated from Pliny the Elder, who mentioned that a certain antidote was to be taken with a 'grain of salt', suggesting it should be consumed with a degree of skepticism or caution … It could also be related to the ancient belief that salt could counteract poison, implying that the information should be handled with caution".

As for Pliny the Elder, "Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 – 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder was a Roman author, naturalist, scientist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic Naturalis Historia (Natural History), a comprehensive thirty-seven-volume work covering a vast array of topics on human knowledge and the natural world, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. He spent most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field".

Class dismissed 🍎.

Armageddon

8:30 last night, long past visiting hours, a time when I was still dressed, makeup on, but bra off, there was a knock knock knock on the door.

No way could that possibly be Little Knock Knock that late, so I was careful.

Having seen enough crime dramas to know not to open the door, not to look through the peephole because, if it’s a trick, they can pew pew you through the eye when they see you looking through the peephole, I went to the kitchen, looked through the blinds.

It was indeed, Little KK.

I asked what she was doing out so late and, not seeing the Talker at the bottom of the stairs, became concerned that she was out by herself.

She wasn’t. Talker was chatting with neighbors at the end of the walkway and later told me Little KK said she wanted to visit her friend. "What friend", asked Talker and Litle KK said, "You know" and pointed to my unit.

Nice but, like I said, it was way past visiting hours and I was watching a Chinese Drama, so I gave Little KK a hug and sent her on her way.

I should be grateful that my beingness is attracting good signs, like Little KK of the Talker’s family knocking on my door, wanting to spend time with me, and now Aunt H — Talker’s sister, giving me a gift, but Talker has a very handsome nephew. Why not him?

Just saying.

So, anyway, waking up around 7:30 this morning, I went to turn the TV on for background noise while I performed my morning rituals, but the TV did not turn on.

I thought it might be a problem with the remote, but then noticed all the lights on the box were off.

I then thought, POWER OUTAGE.

Sure enough, the lights in the unit were off, microwave was dead, as was the A/C.

In this unbearably hot weather, this is not a convenient time for a power outage. To top it off, I kept hearing sirens racing down the street.

First the earthquake, now a power outage with the sound of sirens back-to-back racing down the street, Armageddon came to mind; and here I was with no way to determine what was going on. Was there a fire on Little Mountain again, did Donnie Two Doll push the button and we are now under attack, do I shelter in place or evacuate? What to do?

There’s always that annoying announcement popping up on TV instructing that "in case of an emergency bla bla bla", but I guess they didn’t consider that source of information doesn’t work when the power is out — no TV, no way of knowing what’s going on.

I did eventually get a power outage alert on the phone — “Outage Reason: analyzing problem, Estimated Start 5:08 am, Estimated End 3:30 pm".

I began formulating a plan to survive the day. 1) I could get that banking issue off the to-do list, then hang out at Starbucks or a mall to escape the heat or 2) I could drag the portable tower fan from the bedroom, attach it to the portable solar generator I purchased when we had that weeklong outage back in January, and cool the room down to where I could work on that never ending needlepoint project.

Deciding on the former, I began preparing for outside, starting with face makeup — but it was melting from the heat as quickly as I got it on. All of a sudden, the power kicked in. It was 9:30.

Whew!

Relieved, I puttered around doing nothing of any significance until along around 11:30, when I remembered today is Pizza Tuesday and the advent of a new Activity Director. So, I headed for the Community Room.

First person to greet me as I entered the room was Upstairs Lady who, you might recall, is invisible to me, no longer exists in my awareness. So, I made a point not to see her, not to hear her greeting and, during the time I was in the room, when she pushed her walker anywhere near to where I was, I moved to the opposite side of the room.

Was that unforgiving of me, childish, petty?

Yes.

And?

The new hire, named Kesha, seems nice; and the name "Kesha" tells you all you need to know about her culture, which we don’t see a lot of in this Corporate structure.

In fact, in all my years here, I’ve only seen two. One was a maintenance man here, who got pushed out by that mean Nurse Ratched when she was managing the complex. The other was a big shot from Corporate, who’d come down, do inspections from time to time. I don’t know how she got to be a big shot in this Corporate structure, but she did, until she too one day suddenly was no longer an employee.

I’m hoping Kesha can survive, hang with whatever, stick with us for a while.

While us Usual Suspects were welcoming Kesha, the woman (Christine) who was our popular Activity Director two/three years ago walked through the doors.

Surprised to see her, I gave her a big hug, asked which complex she was working at, to which she replied, "I’m a supervisor now".

"WHAT?! … You’re Kesha’s boss? … The HBIC?"

She laughed, answered,"Yes".

Now knowing Christine is the "new boss" that our last Activity Director accused of treating her so badly that she quit, I'm thinking there's a lot more to that story about the "new boss" being mean to her.

Christine had her moments when she served here as Activity Director, but nothing we couldn't roll with … snapped once when she felt infringred upon that seniors, thinking they were helping, distributed pizzas before she was ready, didn't take any crap when having to deal with seniors that tried to jump the line, take more than their share, didn't think they needed to follow the rules, but was otherwise good to us, well liked.

The Activity Director that quit must have had underlining issues … couldn't handle Christine strong nature, was maybe a little princess that was accustomed to being handled with kid gloves, had a problem with Christine on a personal level, or a problem with authority in general.

As for why Christine was here, she came to support Kesha — make sure Kesha was received well by us (she was) and generally just pave the way for a smooth transition.

Little Knock Knock made an appearance in the room. She’s going back to San Diego for school tomorrow.

Feeling bad for brushing her off last night, I drove to Starbucks, picked up two cake pops for her.

I'd better turn off all the lights in my unit tonight, and make myself scarce tomorrow, just in case Little KK gets to thinking of making a farewell stop by my unit.

Before heading back upstairs, I received another gift — a Mary Kay makeup/mirror case from the new resident Jo, who sometimes spearheads craft sessions for us.

I also was approached by Di (Apache’s old friend, the resident that had been involved with Meat Man’s son — he in his mid to late 20’s, she her 60’s), who said "We’ve never been close friends, but I’ve watched you for years" and something to the effect that she "can see" and could tell I’ve gone through a lot in life, has observed my strength, my kindness, generosity, yada yada yada, that I'm not doing high school like many others are, that some of us are meant to be students, others teachers, some to serve as examples, that she sees me in the example category, has so much respect for me, that I "shine".

Well, damn!

Knock Knock, Aunt H, the gifts, Di’s comments to me, Twin 1 continuing to call to make sure I’m still alive (LOL), it's getting to be a lot.

Are these signs I’m not long for this world?

I see the doctor on Thursday, so I’m prepared, won’t be surprise if she has something serious to tell me.