Cause I'm a woman! W-O-M-A-N

After driving to Redlands this morning for a dental appointment, after which I stopped by Sprouts in that area to restock on products my sensitive stomach can tolerate; then heading to the medical center in that area for a doctor-requested blood pressure check, after which I stopped by the Flu Clinic and got this year’s flu shot out of the way, I began hearing Peggy Lee singing in my head … her song about us women being able to do it all.

Only thing left to do is a Covid booster, if it looks like that's still a thing and recommended.

In the lobby of the dental office, I grabbed a pic of the GQ-ready outfit an older gentleman was wearing.

Unfortunately, when he turned around, his front side didn’t stand up to his backside; but kudos for the shirt, Jordan pants and Rebook kicks.

The blood pressure reading did not go well. I failed at 146. She did two retakes. Both registered the same 146. Then, she had me stand up for a long long long long time before she took it again. So long that it began to feel like the room as moving, so I leaned on the machine with my left hand, steadied myself on whatever was on my right; but it got me down to 141, which she said was passable …… I snapped a pic of her child’s cute artwork before I left.

I got sick of my long-time primary’s care team overstepping … blocking access, making decisions for my primary who knows what ails me so well that, before her beoch team stepped in, I'd send her a message and she would order the prescription, no sweat.

Last few times I had to contact the doctor’s office – once for a question about whether or not I needed a tetanus shot after I stabbed a finger with a much-used box cutter, and twice when one of those conditions that come out of nowhere to torture us women who constantly wear tight clothing, like the leggings I prefer, flared up; her care team blocked the doctor. Didn’t answer my question about a tetanus shot, told me to make an appointment for an examination; also told me to make an appointment when I was in pain because of the flare up from hell – even acted like I was lying, said "It didn’t show up when you had your blood test two weeks ago", when it wasn’t anything that would show up in a blood test, and which made me question her qualifications/prompted me to file an official complaint.

Not able to wait three months for an appointment, I went to a walk-in clinic down the street, got what I needed, no problem.

THAT complaint worked its way up to my primary. She ordered a prescription that was good for two refills. All I had to do was call the pharmacy next two flare ups.

Since that prescription has run its course, it’s back to the care team telling me to make an appointment, and this last time was it for me because, after that parking fiasco at the main medical center recently, where I had to park at a shopping center and walk, I promised myself I was never going through that again.

So, in addition to getting what I needed at the clinic down the street, I changed doctors to a primary in the Redlands area. I just wish I’d sent a message to my long-time primary to explain the only reason I’m leaving her is because of her care team’s overstepping. I thought, when I processed the change, there would be a place where I could say so but, when I clicked the reason as "other" than what was listed, it went through, no chance to rat the care team out.

So, anyway, before I have reason to schedule with the new primary, or she calls me in, I probably need to get a better BP reading on file.

If the new primary has a care team that sucks as much as my long-time primary’s did, at least there’s parking at her location and, hopefully, a wait time that doesn’t extend into months.

BTW … on the freeway, I spotted a somewhat souped up NatC Car.

Nice try, but it doesn't make it look any better than what it is.

Make it Make Sense

Woke up this morning to this ……

A cool 75◦ with much needed rain.

But, and it’s a big BUT, tomorrow’s forecast is whiplashed back to 90◦, with temps rising to a hot 99◦ by Wednesday.

Make it make sense.

Also, under the topic of make it make sense, I’ve been waiting for two sheets of scrapbook paper I ordered as background, for the Creative Memories album's layout of the 5 or so grass skirt pics taken at the End of Summer event.

On August 25, I'd managed to snag the last two sheets of Reminisce - Hawaiian Palm on Wood.

Waiting patiently for and not finding the package the last few times I checked mail, I yesterday tracked and learned it was shipped August 29, "delivered to a parcel locker at 11:34 am on August 31".

Now, the key word here is "A parcel locker" because whatever mail slot the key to the locker was left in, it wasn’t mine cause I never got it.

Someone was so unscrupulous as to take advantage of the mail carrier’s mistake of placing the locker key in the wrong mail slot – and not the first time, and instead of walking over to me/the named recipient, chose to keep what they found inside … also not the first time.

It’s an epidemic around here, and what gets me is that the scrapbook supplies I’ve lost in the past, and currently, aren’t even items the hijacker can use or sell. So why keep it? Why add even more bad karma to your obviously already miserable existence. Just say you received in error, opened not realizing it wasn't his/hers.

That happened to me when I opened a package, saw a shower curtain I'd never ordered, checked the name on the package, saw it wasn't directed to me, walked it over to the resident with an oops that I get so many packages that I'd assumed it was one of mine without looking at the label.

My brain can’t compute the small mindedness of keeping something that isn't yours.

Unfortunately for me, those were the last two sheets the supplier had in stock; but all may not be loss. I’m not in a hurry to finish the layout, signed up to be notified if/when back in stock, will wait it out.

I’m just glad it was a small order this time, not as big a loss as previous orders.

Lastly, I saw the below on facebook this morning and was🤣.

But is it true …… did he really change the color of his hair? or is this A.I.

I Hope This is Personal

A bearable 86◦ this morning, I headed out to put in walking miles around the complex and saw this ……

I’m not wishing harm on anyone in hoping this is personal. I’m just hoping this doesn’t mean some kind of fresh hell for all of us that park in that area. Not some random someone walking around smashing out car windows, but rather some kind of personal animosity having to do with no one but the resident whose car was vandalized.

It did occur to me that perhaps the vandalism did not happen on our lot, but that the car’s owner was in the wrong place at the wrong time …… that this happened elsewhere. But noooooo, because there was glass on the ground, under and around the area of the window, indicating it happened here.

At any rate, fingers crossed this is a one-time thing for the vandalized car owner and for us.

Yesterday was also a bearable walking day at 89◦, but I opted to get marketing out of the way instead.

Listening to country/western station KFROG, as I drove to the branch of the market in the bad area/surrounded in bars like a prison that has the best produce because of the way the area is zoned, I burst out laughing when I heard radio host Kelli say, "It’s still hot, but Walmart is already selling Christmas decorations".

I’m still waiting for October 1/the First of Halloween but, at this rate, Valentine’s Day merchandise will be on sale before Halloween gets here.

This branch of the market I drove to is preferred, rather than the corner market, not only because produce seems fresher, but also because fun things seem to happen at the other branch. Like the young man telling me his friend said I was pretty, and the 62-year-old that called me chocolate ice cream and proposed marriage. This time it was a not bad looking slightly over middle-aged gentleman pushing his cart towards me, looking to pass on my left, head to produce as I was pushing my car out of that area. Just as he was about to pass, he said, "My God! You are so beautiful, so beautiful".

Believe you me, I was feeling nowhere near beautiful yesterday …… just so old, so tired, and so done that, though he was looking at me when he said it, I wasn’t all that sure he was actually talking about or to me. I even actually turned around as he passed to see if he was addressing someone behind me. There was no one else in the immediate area, so I can only assume the spontaneous utterance was addressed to me …… the Universe giving me the bump I needed to pull myself out of the blue funk I’ve been in off/on for months.

Still not totally convinced that I looked better than I felt, I took a selfie when I got back to the car …… the photo I’m now using as my profile pic.

My eyes …… free of eye makeup because I gave that up long ago, do not look well or happy.

Nevertheless, the bump seems to have worked …… temporarily motivated me up and out, because I pushed through this morning and logged in 1.01 miles, in 32:38 minutes at the snail slow pace of 32:15, 3,292 steps.

It’s a start. Hopefully, I can keep it up as the weather continues to cooperate by cooling down.

In other news, it’s been super quiet around here since last week’s End of Summer event. I’ve not seen nor spoken to any neighbors, so no news on the status of Hell on Wheels, Ankle Annie or the Feces Felon.

Bingo returns this Friday, after a month’s hiatus due to the organizers having to work around office hours and the Baker’s needing a break from whatever has been happening in bingo that upset her.

She had me do a sheet of Bingo Rules that includes the regular "Limit two wins until the ninth (blackout) game", adding "No arguments between players or you will be asked to leave".

That’s telling.

I wonder who was arguing, and what could they have been arguing about. It’s just bingo for God’s sake.

Also, "Keep the noise down so everyone can hear the numbers, please make sure you are listening".

That was especially aggravating when I used to attend bingo, and the main reason I stopped going. People could just not shut up, talked over the caller making it difficult to hear numbers being called AND, because they were talking instead of listening, would often interrupt the game asking "What were those last numbers you called" or "Did you call xyz?".

Lastly, "Lunch or snacks will be served after bingo for our bingo players".

I think this is because residents, not involved in bingo, would lurk around trying to time coming in just as refreshments were being served. You know, like the neighbor who just happens to stop by when dinner is being served.

I think it’s going to be hard to enforce this rule.

If I were the Baker, I’d order meal tickets that say, "Good for one meal", pass those tickets out to residents playing bingo AND, at the end of bingo, serve only those who present valid tickets.

In fact, I’m going to order said tickets, give to the Baker for bingo and other events where residents unceremoniously show up at dinner time.

Everyone Out of the Pool

I had no intentions of heading out in 104° weather for today’s End of Summer event. However, along about 11:00 — the time the event was to have started, not seeing anyone on the walkway heading that way, I became curious, threw on a top, shorts, grass skirt stepped out the door around 11:30 to see if anything was going on.

To say it was hot outside is an understatement. The word for today is ……

Seems everyone got the bitchferno memo, because the pool area was bare.

However, over in the distance, just outside the back door of the Community Room, I could see a covered kiosk where cooking seemed to be happening.

Detouring through the Mail Room to get out of the heat, I headed to the Community Room and found the event going on strong.

Seems, management did have the good sense, after all, to move the event inside.

Lu and Dream Lover were in attendance, sitting on opposite sides of the room, not speaking to each other, Dream Lover having declared to me that he’s learned his lesson about craping where he eats, and dressed for the occasion.

I’d recently seen him on the walkway heading towards Lu’s unit, but evidently his being in that area had nothing to do with her.

There was no update on the Feces Felon — whether he’s been caught or struck again, but I did get info on the woman wearing the ankle bracelet that saves me time and attention, limiting my checking ankles to a specific nationality.

BTW, we need a name for the Woman Wearing the Ankle Bracelet. No moniker is coming to mind, so what say you?

At any rate, turns out she’s not a resident per se but that, recently released from jail — unknown what her crime was, she’s living here with her mother.

Talker tells me the woman is "really rough", got "ugly and super aggressive" with Talker when Talker …… seeing her having a pool party with four other people and no resident with them, gave her a heads up that she’d get in trouble with the office for bringing in that many people and being a non-resident unaccompanied by a resident.

Instead of appreciating the warning, the woman with the ankle monitor became aggressive, argumentative, ended up calling her mom to the scene to back her up, put Talker in her place.

When her mom came over, saw Talker was involved, she told her daughter "Why you arguing with L …… She’s my friend", and made her take her people and get out of the pool.

So, it seems that though Woman with the Ankle Bracelet can't break the rule that a non-resident cannot use the pool without a resident accompanying them, she can wear an angle monitor in the pool without being electrocuted.

On the other hand, the internet tells me, "Most electronic monitoring devices are only water-resistant enough for brief exposures like a quick shower or getting caught in the rain. Full submersion in a swimming pool can damage the device and trigger a false tamper alert".

I don't know how she managed it, but where's there's a will, there's a way.

Never in My Life

Finishing up the backlog of photos going into my personal Creative Memories scrapbook this morning, I heard myself say to myself "Never in my life did I ever think I’d be adding photos like this to the Memory book".

It was hella hard finishing up that layout, and then the Legacy LA Pride photos, but I got through it.

I’ve said it before; I’ll say it again … The circle of life is incredibly cruel.

No news yet as to whether the Feces Felon has struck again, but I did hear we’ve a new resident on the complex that’s wearing an ankle bracelet.

When I say ankle bracelet, I’m not talking about this …

I’m talking about this …

Not wanting to automatically judge the new resident as being a danger to society, assume that management is leasing to criminals, I went to ChatGPT and asked, "What kind of people require police ankle bracelets?" and got "Police and courts use electronic ankle bracelets to track individuals awaiting trial, serving probation or parole, or placed under house arrest. They are assigned based on risk level, specific offenses like domestic violence or repeat DUI, and as an alternative to jail time."

"Awaiting trial!!!!!! … on Parole!!!!!!! … Risk Level!!!!!"

WTF!!!

Is management running a Halfway House?

I'm now on the lookout for who this new neighbor might be and, actually, a few days ago — before I heard about an ankle bracelet resident, passed a woman I didn't recognize on the walkway. I looked in the eyes, smiled, said "good morning" but now, in retrospect, I'm thinking she looked hard, like someone who could be wearing an ankle bracelet.

At any rate, I'll now be passing, smiling, greeting, looking at ankles, rather than eyes, saying "good morning".

Repeat Performance

The cool down is over. The weather is heating up again, s0 I checked the forecast for next week’s End of Summer event in the pool area …… triple digits expected that day.

There’s been an unexpected buzz in the air about the event, folks are talking about it, telling others that didn’t know about it — even though signs are plastered everywhere. One resident …… the woman that used to sit in her car outside the Pain Cave to get a break from her husband, LOL, tells me she’s planning on wearing her swimsuit, bringing a pool floatie.

She doesn’t look that old, can still rock a revealing swimsuit.

I think the buzz is that folks are just so desperate for management to do something, anything that's not gonna cost us. So, the event might be a success.

Thing for me is the event is outdoors, in the area of the pool, during a week and on a day when triple digits are expected to hit, and I can't handle that.

So, unless something changes between now and then …… like the event being moved from the outdoor pool area to inside the Community Room and on the covered patio, I'm out, grass skirt and all.

In other news …… it was Tuesday when I blogged about Assistant Maintenance Guy going back/forth with inadequate equipment, cleaning up behind the Feces Felon (thanks for that title Bob). The very next day, yesterday, was Crafts Wednesday, so I went down to the Community Room.

Before I even got seated, Crafty Lady said manager had come in, told them, "It happened again". Between the time maintenance cleaned up on Tuesday, and this next morning, the Feces Felon had struck again.

Makes me think the felon is someone living in that area, whose unit allows them to watch the comings/goings as maintenance cleans up behind him, is getting a perverse pleasure from it.

If the cameras indicate it’s who Manager thinks it is, whether she feels she has enough to confront or not, she should confront. If all else fails, then test the DNA. Match it to who they think it is AND, if the felon refuses to give up his DNA to match, there are labs that can, from the DNA submitted, draw a picture of the felon, then follow ancestry techniques to name the exact person.

Me …… depending on the situation, I’m willing to risk a little bad karma by allowing my devious and vengeful side out to play. I’d terrorize the SOB, make him paranoid by mailing to the suspected felon’s unit or sneaking notes on his door saying, "I know who you are. I know what you’re doing".

So, anyway, I once again passed on participating in crafts, opted just to get the tea while taking photos, documenting for the residents' facebook page what the seniors created using the bottom of cans, the bottom of soda bottles, and the end of empty tissue rolls as tools for painting on canvas.

Why Did the Donut Go to the Dentist?

Last time I was at the bank, the riddle board displayed, "What lights up a soccer stadium". Today, when I dropped in, it was "Why did the donut go to the dentist?".

Before heading out for the bank, I checked into the Community Room for Kesha Tuesday and got …… guess what?

ROFLMAO!

Running into Di in the hallway, we each asked how the other was doing and entered the Community Room together, practically arm in arm.

I did this as a signal to the others that, although they exclude Di, deliberately leave her out of the circle, I’m not with that. I’ve known Di too many years to turn on her just because Crafty Lady doesn’t like her and has influenced others, who also have known Di for years, should know better, to also turn into mean girls and dismiss her.

Sure enough, walking into the room with Di, Crafty Lady greeted, "IT’S SHIRLEY!", deliberately excluding Di from the greeting.

I said, "And Di".

Point made.

Like I said, Kesha just gave us potato chips, passed out a flyer with information about managing utility bills in Summer. However, Manager came in, gave a short presentation about things going on that were "not okay".

Like the cameras on the property catching, over the weekend, a resident swimming in the pool, but not alone. Swimming with the resident was his dog, a maltese.

I’m filing this one under "What the hell is wrong with people". Some fool didn’t see a problem with letting his dog swim in the community pool.

It was observed by residents who reported it, management followed up by reviewing the cameras, identified the resident, gave him a warning. However, I've since heard from others, that residents who had no idea who/what had been in the pool before them, took a swim.

Good thing it’s cleaned twice weekly.

Also, "Not okay" was the fact that Assistant Maintenance Man was, at that precise moment, cleaning the mixed-sex bathroom by the pool of feces that had been painted on the walls.

Yikes and gross. Sounds like they should have called in a hazmat team for that.

I was reminded of an incident at my last place of employment where something the agency did had upset employees. Someone expressed their dissatisfaction by painting the walls of the men’s bathroom in feces.

Retaliation.

The agency called in a hazmat team for cleanup; but, of course, cleanup here is pushed onto the maintenance guys because cheap labor.

Thinking about what had happened at the agency, I asked about the timing of what was happening in the pool bathroom …… did it start after the rent increase?

She said no, it had happened before …… "a recurring problem".

Still sounds like someone is very very angry with management about something, or just sick.

Someone in the room brought up the cameras, and couldn’t management figure out who the feces painter is from viewing the cameras.

Manager said she’s been doing that, and the culprit has been narrowed down to a possible suspect, not a homeless person getting onto the property, but to a resident with insufficient proof to confront him.

In the meantime, the office is monitoring the camera, watching the suspected resident, and thinking of changing the key we all have for that bathroom to a system where residents have to ask staff for the bathroom key, sign for it, bring it back. They are also thinking about shutting that bathroom down altogether.

I don’t think they can shut it down because health codes require a dedicated poolside restroom; but no problem I, if they shut it down, because I never ever use it because it’s communal and mixed sex. I envision guys missing the target, shaking leftover urine over the seat and floor, would rather die than open that door, see what I envision. If I’m in the Community Room and have to go, I head back to my unit, take care of business, return to the Community Room.

So, anyway …… What lights up a socker stadium? A match.

Why did the donut go to the dentist? Because it needed a filling.

The Week that Was

We had a bit of a weather cooldown on Tuesday. It was still hot, but bearable, so I was able to log in a mile around the complex.

Saw that a unit, which had recently been vacated — the resident located elsewhere on the complex, has an obvious new resident. Obvious because the previous resident wasn’t this kind of decorative.

Elsewhere on the complex was this creatively decorated patio.

I'm guessing this is where those people relocated to.

While sitting on the patio, I’ve often grabbed the phone to take a pic of my favorite sight — my two elderly boys on the walkway but, slow walking as they are, I've not been able to get to the phone quick enough to capture a photo … that is until on my walk that day.

The boys, who look like they could be twins, do not live together. At the end of the walkway, one hangs a right, the other a left. So, I don’t know how they came to be such seemingly close friends …… always together.

I may have to one day come up with an excuse to approach, while the two are sitting outside the gate, engaged in their favorite activity of watching traffic go by, start a conversation, find out what their story is.

I bet drivers passing by, seeing not only the two boys but often other residents, sitting on walkers, with nothing better to do than watch traffic go by see it as sad.

I, on the other hand, think us residents to be content, at peace. Don't need a lot of what those driving by have and do to make us happy, feeling blessed just to be able to sit and watch the world roll by.

Wednesday was another day of bearable weather.

I’d planned to watch the eclipse that day, eclipse glasses at the ready.

Then learned, California would experience no visible eclipse activity as the path was restricted to far northern regions — Alaska, Canada. So, I decided instead to join the Usual Suspects in the Community Room for crafts but took the long way around …… twice around the complex to log in another mile.

Told myself this was doable …… that I could, at the very least get up and out, manage one mile a day, so long as the weather cooperated.

That motivation lasted about as long as you readers probably expected, as today is Saturday and I’ve not been out walking since Wednesday.

Oh well.

I didn’t participate in Wednesday’s craft session, just watched, took photos for the residents’ facebook page, as they made picture frames using stencils, plexiglass, cardboard.

As for what I’ve been doing locked in my unit, other than watching Korean and Chinese Dramas on TikTok and Facebook, lusting after the handsome young Asian men I see on the screen, I’ve been finishing up yet another scrapbook …… one I started in '23, which chronicles my own personal activities, got sidelined due to the birth of great grandkids, making books chronicling their activities.

Once my '23 book is finished, the plan is to do one more, that will cover my activities between then and now, which I sense will be the last chronicling my own personal activities.

The hardest part of scrapbooking is coming up with a title page. I've come up with a system where I sometimes make the title page look like magazine covers, like this one ……

Since this next book will be the last of my personal activities, I'm thinking of doing something with one of the few photos I have of my toddler years, titling it HOW IT STARTED.

In addition to scrapbooking, I've also been throwing together tropical wear for the Resident’s End of Summer Event.

Not finding, in storage, the grass skirt I’d previously made, I grabbed raffia when I was at the craft store purchasing that Venus Flytrap and, in between scrapbooking and lusting after young Asian men in K/Cdramas, building a skirt.

Also, while at the craft store, I looked for blocks and letters to arrange in 8647, but didn't find anything usable.

The fact is, I tried, LOL.

So, anyway, as I was saying …… in addition to scrapbooking supplies, there's currently grass-colored raffia everywhere.

Still not sure I’ll actually have the guts to wear the skirt … won’t know until the day of; but if I don’t wear it, it will turn into Skelly the Skeleton’s outfit for this year’s Halloween patio display.

Did You Make an Appointment?

Received an email on Saturday from Debra of She Who Seeks that Michael’s Craft Store was selling 46" Flytrap.

I thought Michael’s had long ago gone out of business, converted to an online store, but quickly googled, learned there was still a Michaels in Redlands — a doable 30-minute drive. So, I headed out in the heat yesterday, to check the plant out.

It was huge.

Fortunately, there was a 36" option.

It even has a spider on one of the bulbs.

There was even a door wreath available.

I passed on the door wreath.

I also passed on the cute doggie by the door, as Skelly the Skeleton already has a dog/Cujo, that I'm thinking of rehoming.

The 36" I chose is potted.

The plant is described as being a mixture of styrofoam, polyethylene, polyester, PVC, iron wire, cement, and labeled "for indoor décor use", but it didn't say "only", so we'll see how it handles outside.

I’m not at all sure that anything, other than the iron wiring, is good feng shui; but I’ve got enough good energy around to counter if the other materials are problematic.

So, anyway, the plan was to free Audrey from the pot it’s planted in, add it to the skeleton planter but, the material holding it in place is immune to the drill, screwdriver and hammer chisel, so I ended up positioning it as is and not liking it.

Reeassessing the arrangement this morning, I realized I could plant Audrey, pot and all, inside the skeleton planter and did.

Maybe the heat of the sun will soften the material, and I can chisel Audrey out of the pot altogether; but the current situation, of placing the plant, pot and all, in the skeleton planter with the little 25-inch Audrey, is working.

Returning from Michaels I found I was blocked from getting up the walkway and the stairs by three dirt bikes, lined up in a row.

I assumed the bikes belonged to people visiting White Haired Neighbor, started to yell up that I was blocked, but instead decided to maneuver my body through, around, between the bikes, careful not to knock one over.

Having made it through the first two bikes, the last bike being positioned right in front of the stairs, was more challenging. However, the way it was leaning, gave me just enough space to squeeze through, plant my feet on the first step.

Having managed the gauntlet, walking up the stairs, WHN’s door opened.

To prevent whoever was planning on coming out from running into me, knocking me back down the stairs I'd worked so hard to access, I said, "I’m coming up". The door closed.

Just as I reached my door, WHN’s door opened again. She and a handsome man, who she introduced as her son, and two young boys, introduced as her grandsons stepped out.

"You made it through the bikes", said her son.

"If my hips had been any wider, I’d not have made it", said I, and they all laughed.

Seeing me holding a 36" Venus Flytrap, WHN said, "I like your plant. Getting ready for Halloween".

"Not really?" said I. "I'm Halloween all year round."

"A lot of people are", said she.

I wish some of that lot of people were living here, so I wasn't the only one with a fetish for skeletons and other oddities, LOL.

Before I got inside my unit, WHN asked, "Did you ever call down and make arrangements to get your pipe cleared?"

"No. It’s like I said, if they don’t care, I don’t care".

"I still don’t understand", said she. "He was here, the equipment was here. It was just mean".

She’s not wrong.

Later that evening, there was a knock knock knock on the door.

Looking through the blinds in the kitchen, I saw it was the Talker.

I was not appropriately dressed for company …… wearing only a tank top and panties. So, I opened the door a crack, went to say, "I don’t have any pants on" and before I could finish the sentence, she said, "I don’t care. I’m mad" and barged right in.

So, there I was not fully clothed and took a guess at what had so disturbed her. "MAGA?", said I.

"MAGA, Painted Rock Lady and Lu", said she; all three now being described as "Those bitches". LOL.

After she’d got some of what upset her out …… enough to calm down to where I could point out the absurdity of my state of undress, I told her to "sit", went to the backroom, slipped on shorts, and let her talk about the girls having let her down, a breakup with that 50-year-old she was dating, and family issues for 2 hours.

She was not only over it all by the time she left, but laughing. So, my work was done.

However, the thing is …… since it seems I can no longer let myself be comfortable in my own space, because folks are knocking, catching me in various stages of undress, I'm seriously thinking about changing my boots doormat to something like this ……

Or this ……

Knock Knock Knock, Day 2

Shortly after noon today, there was another knock knock knock on the door.

It can't be little Knock Knock, because she’d gone home with her parents, thought I; and assumed correctly it had to be my White-Haired Neighbor, once again catching me wrapped in my sarong, because I had no intentions to seize the day.

She said maintenance was currently in her unit. That she’d approached one of the maintenance guys when she saw him outside, he had grabbed his equipment, come up to her unit, was currently addressing the condensation pipe over the tub, clearing the pipe of dust and grime so her tub would not get the rust stains I’d spoken of.

Interesting …… inasmuch as we are warned not to approach the guys when they are out and about, that we absolutely must put in a workorder.

She said that, since he was here, did I want him to clear my pipe as well.

I said sure, quickly dressed in day wear.

Then, she knocked again, had a what the hell look on her face, said she doesn’t understand it but maintenance had said no, they could not clear my pipe, that I’d have to put in a work order.

"That doesn’t surprise me", said I.

"But they are here now, and you’re right next door", said she.

"Yes. I know it doesn't make sense, that it’s petty", said I, "But not making sense is how things work around here".

"Since he’s here, why don’t you call the manager now and request it?".

"I’ve lived here 14 years, have been through the ringer with management and maintenance. The maintenance guys we have now are good, they know me, like me, and I have no problem with them. But the way things work around here are strange. I’ve accepted that, but have learned how to protect my peace from the strangeness. So, for now, I’m accustomed to cleaning the rust, won’t be calling the manager or putting in a workorder. I’m at the stage where if they don’t care, I don’t care."

She said, "I understand because I had problems with the manager over where I lived for 34 years. He had a problem with cats, had trapped two cats for three days, so I reported him to the ASPCA. After that he kept finding issues with me, tried to get me evicted. So, I understand."

She walked away with a look on her face that read she was stunned/couldn’t believe that, since maintenance was here, the equipment was here, why he couldn’t do my unit; and I hope she told him what I'd said, that "If they don't care, I don't care".

Wait until she finds out she’ll have to pay for overhead lighting, garbage disposals, and whatever else maintenance issues management decides to bill residents for.

Plus, because she didn’t put in a workorder, but got one of the guys to come to her unit, handle the A/C condenser pipe, the entire complex will probably get notices to our doors to "Not bother the Maintenance Workers when they are out and about".

Other than that, it’s all peaches and crème around here. We even, at long last, have a management-sponsored event coming up — "Resident’s End of Summer Event, join us by the pool for food, games and prizes, 11am – 3pm, Tuesday, August 25, wear your best tropical attire".

In other news, I received bad news from the seller of the Boot Urn. Emailing my height and weight, asking if ashes would fit, he or she replied, the boot holds "130 cubic inches which is approx 130lbs precremation".

I am considerably over 130 pounds, so bummer with my plan to go in style.