President’s Day

No disrespect to Joe (it’s a tough job, somebody’s got to do it, but at least that somebody is no longer No. 45), but for me, it’s another Monday.

Woke up yesterday to find there were no eggs for breakfast in the refrigerator.

I was sure I'd restocked on my last trip and had plenty but, oh well, I made a quick run to the market and noticed the "mask required" signage has been removed. Now it’s just decal lettering next to the entry door saying masks are “suggested” if you’ve NOT been vaccinated.

I’m assuming the policy change is the result of the mask mandate having been rolled back to indicate those of us who are fully vaccinated are no longer required to mask up indoors.

Is it just me who now feels, with the wording of the policy change that, since I’m masked up, people assume I’m doing so because I’m NOT vaccinated?

It’s all so convoluted. No one knows who is vaxxed, who’s not, what’s safe, what’s not but no matter the mandate, it’s going to be masks and wipes for me until I get the all clear — however long that takes.

At least now, with the roll back, incidents of store employees enforcing the prior mask mandate being attacked will cease, but that won’t help the male and female Karens I’ve seen on TikTok and in the news who’ve already lost jobs, businesses, friends, put on a no-fly list, ruined their reputations and lives by acting the fool over being told to put a mask on.

Now that the Tyrant is gone, there’s chatter amongst the resident that there will be changes.

I doubt it because … what’s to change, except one thing different is that Head Maintenance Guy (HMG) is no longer locking and unlocking the mail center — a measure instituted by the Tyrant to put a halt to the constant break-ins.

After mail thieves managed to break in through every key lock, and other types of bars and locks installed as preventive measures, the only thing that worked was when HMG was given the duty to manually bar the security gate from the inside at 5:00 p.m. and manually unbar 9:00 a.m., Monday – Saturday.

I’m sure he got paid extra for it, and I’m equally sure his lazy arse didn’t like having the responsibility. There was even that bruhaha a few weeks ago when he failed to unlock, causing the mail carrier to turn around, leave without dropping mail off.

So, when on Friday, I ran into Next Door Neighbor and Church Lady complaining about having to once again use a key on the handle of the security gate, to gain entrance into the mail center, it didn’t come as much of a surprise that we’d gone back to what did not work before.

HMG probably did not even bother to ask No. 9 (the new manager) if he could no longer have to trouble himself with that responsibility.  My guess is he just stopped doing it.

Is it possible HMG is purposely setting No. 9 up for a fall?

She may not even be aware of all the prior break-ins and how the postal inspector people threatened to cease delivering to this property if management and Corporate didn't find a way to fix the problem.

After a few unsuccessful fixes, it got fixed, and now the fix is undone.

So long as the mail thieves don’t discover the change, we may not see this again.

But, if the mail thieves do come back and destroy the center again, No. 9 and HMG are gonna have a lot of splainin to do. Probably just No. 9, as HMG will throw her under the bus.

Memorial Day

Normally, I’d have titled this post “Happy Memorial Day”. However, from the backlash VP Harris is getting for saying “enjoy”, I thought better of using an adjective. LOL.

Isn’t much of a Memorial Day around here but, looking back, it never really has been.

Last Memorial Day, we were in quarantine. Year before that, it was business as usual — a workout in the Pain Cave. Same with this year — I'll be heading out shortly for a workout. It may be the only workout this week, depending on how I feel after tomorrow’s second Moderna shot.

Inasmuch as Handsome Man said he'd experienced dizziness with his second shot, and Assistant Maintenance Guy experienced dizziness with his first, I thought it not a good idea to drive the 15 miles to where I’d gotten the first shot.

Mike had indicated I didn’t have to return to where I’d got the first shot, that I could get the second anywhere. I’d checked with the corner drug store and it was “Yes. That’s correct. Walk right in. No appointment necessary”.

However, when I’d called a few days ago to verify it was Moderna, it was “Yes, Moderna but day after a Holiday is going to be crazy. Schedule an appointment”. Only their appointment schedule is booked for weeks — that is unless I want to schedule a night appointment, which I do not ... not in this area. So, off I go to the place of origin tomorrow — hoping there will be no dizzy spells preventing me from safely driving myself back home.

Last week, I was telling Trainer about the secret camera identifying the duo who’d been breaking into the mail center, as “Two skinny White guys”.

Just like I’d equated skinny with meth heads, Trainer also immediately went to, “meth heads” and added they were more than likely coming from the trailer park.

"What trailer park?" asked I.

"There’s a trailer park behind Auto Zone", said he.

How interesting, I never knew that.

I’ve often heard mention of a trailer park with “dangerous people”. In fact, when Shadow came to live with us, it was said his last residence was that very same trailer park. That he’d gotten into some kind of altercation with residents and had to move out for his own safety.

I just didn’t realize the trailer park, everyone was always talking about, was a hop, skip, jump from here — other side of the vacant field where Tent Guy used to live.

But now, just as I’m typing this, something Shadow said to me, when he first came on board, is now making sense.

Looking back through the blog, it was March of 2018, when Shadow hit the blog as “The New Guy”.

When he learned photos taken at events were posted to the Residents’ Facebook page, he approached and said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t put me on Facebook. I’ve got enemies and I’d rather they didn’t know I’m here.”

The likelihood of his "enemies" locating him via the Residents' Facebook page was nil but, of course, I removed photos in which he appeared, all the while thinking “Enemies??? … Don’t want them to know I’m here???” … Who talks like that? … Is this guy a fugitive from justice maybe or someone in witness protection?

It all makes sense now. He was afraid of the people he'd angered at the trailer park.

What didn’t make sense was, shortly after having me remove his photos, he began hanging out in front of the complex, smoking, in full view of anyone walking or driving down the street.

Hiding in plain sight?

I’m also remembering that, after he hooked up with The Seer — back when she and I were still friends, she’d complain about him being out front getting into conversations with people, of a rough looking persuasion, walking down the street. In fact, shortly after he moved in, he invited one of those rough looking types to hang out with him inside the complex.

He introduced her to me as his "niece" and, not knowing who Shadow really was, at the time, I took him at his word.

The "niece" looked to be stoned out of her mind.

Other residents, spotting "niece" on the grounds, looking and acting suspiciously, immediately began to warn others to be careful and, wouldn't you know it, before the day was over, there was some kind of incident between "niece" and her "uncle" Shadow. The police were called and Shadow almost got himself evicted — all this within his first two/three months of moving in.

At any rate, Shadow still hangs out front of the building, chatting it up with rough looking types — which obviously, from what The Seer has told me in the past and her recently hunting him down, she's warned him about doing. But, far as I know, he’s learned his lesson about bringing them onto the premises.

Is it possible the "two skinny White guys" got drawn to our mail room because of an association with Shadow?

Hmmmmmm?

In other news, I believe I made a $1500 mistake in purchasing a new laptop. 

When the only four-year old Envy began loading slow, and some pages and game apps not loading at all, I thought it was the laptop — especially since I’d received a message about parts no longer being available for that model. However, when the new Envy started off loading slow, and some pages and games not loading at all, something whispered “modem”.

The tech came bright and early yesterday morning (They work on Sunday? Apparently they do), replaced the modem, and voilà — loading problem solved.

Even though I would eventually had to switch out laptops, it appears I could have gotten more life than a mere four years out of the old Envy. 

But , Oh Well … live and learn.

Square One

Having a post office box, to bypass the break ins, was working out so well …… until it wasn’t.

Details as to how it all went wrong are too extraneous to get into, so let’s just say I’ve closed the box and I’m back to square one — taking my chances with the mail thief.

There has been some little progress in identifying the culprit.

Turns out it’s culprits, two of them.

The Baker’s family is law enforcement and fire fighters. I'm aware that two of her daughters married cops, but I can’t say as to how the other relationships are tied in.

Suffice it to say that, inasmuch as law enforcement has been brought in on the break-ins, as well as someone with the postal service, the Baker’s family being riddled with law enforcement gives her an advantage in finding out what goes on here — things management won’t share with us.

It’s been determined the thieves are “two skinny white guys.”

"Skinny" … probably meth heads.

The Baker tells me, the last time the duo hit, they were successful in getting many of the residents’ social security checks — which I’d already deduced. However, along with the camera we all know is in the area, another “secret” camera had been installed — which is how the two were identified.

They evaded the obvious camera, and got picked up on the secret one.

The challenge now, according to the Baker, is for law enforcement to find the guys.

Good luck with that, especially since I’m not seeing their faces plastered on any wanted posters.

So, for the time being, to combat further break-ins, management has deactivated key entry. The mail center is now left open. We only have to pull on the gate to enter. However, the center is only left open during hours when staff is in the office — Monday thru Friday, 9:00 to 4:00 p.m. Weekends, holidays and after hours, the mail center is bolted shut.

We’ll see how long it takes for the thieves to get around that hurtle … if not caught first.

I myself would like to see a hungry boa constructor placed in the mail center during closed hours, to swallow the thieves whole should they return.

Tomorrow is my return drive to the medical center for the annual blood pressure check, which didn’t turn out so well when I checked in on the 14th and opened Pandora’s Box.

I’ve been practicing Mike’s suggestion to take ten deep breaths.

A few days ago, when my at home reading registered 145/60, I took the ten breaths and immediately dropped down to 121/58  (Thanks, Mike for that great suggestion), so I’ve high hops of getting a passing grade this time around, not to be bothered again for another year.

Mother’s Day 2021

Ordinarily, I’d be spending the day competing in a 5K with Twin 2, followed by being treated to a mani pedi.

The pandemic put an end to that tradition.

Having not made a trip to the spa in over a year, Lord knows I desperately need a spa mani pedi; but even though the spa is back in business, I’m not ready to risk that yet.

Made my first trip to the post office box yesterday, Mother’s Day Eve (Mother’s Day Eve should be a thing).

Worked out so well ─ even with an oversized package of scrapbooking paper being placed in a vault box, that I wondered why I’d never thought of a po box before.

Color me simple, but actually I find the entire process quite fascinating and would like to know how it works that, with so much mail coming to just this complex alone, the system knows to forward my mail to the po box.

Also fascinating me today is my Mother’s Day gift to myself.

I can’t say a salad spinner is any more effective than the paper towel method, to wash/dry kale, and other leafy greens, that I’m accustomed to. It’s just fancier, more elegant … bougie.

Problem Solved

I was feeling a little hurt on Sunday — like I no longer mattered, was not important to family when I didn’t get a Happy Mother’s Day text.

Felt better when, online later that evening, I saw Mother’s Day is not until next Sunday. LOL.

After this morning’s workout, I followed through on getting a post office box.

What a pain in the arse that was.

The initial application for a box was completed online, but then I had to drive to the post office to get the box “activated” ─ bring in a boatload of forms I’d printed out and filled in the blanks, show ID. A process I expected to take no longer than 5/10 minutes.

It didn’t.

The Supervising Clerk could not find my order in the system.

Fortunately, something prompted me to also bring along the confirmation page, which showed the box had been paid for and an order number.

With that proof, the Supervising Clerk had to solve the issue which, after an eternity of investigation ─ going to two different computers, disappearing into the back, she found my order in the system under a different telephone number ─ which, I assume is how the system tracks orders .. by telephone number.

”You put in a different number”, said she.

”I don’t have another number”.

”Maybe you made a mistake typing in”, said she.

Anything is possible, but inasmuch as the number was a Kansas area code, I doubt it.

It was amicable between us as the kinks were cleared up. She was patient and professional. I was calm.

At one point, just to make conversation, she asked, “Have you had a p o box before?”

I replied, no, and told her about the mailbox break-ins saying, “I don’t understand how it keeps happening when there's a camera recording and staff living right over the area”.

”Staff might be doing it”, said she.

Which made me laugh, even though I don’t think so, but my view is from the inside. The Supervising Clerk, and a comment from Dawn the Bohemian ─ about the possibility of staff being involved, are views from the outside looking in ─ so maybe it could be.

Stranger things have happened when people want to surreptitiously express how much they hate their job. Like the time I saw a hazmat team going into the men’s bathroom at the racist agency I retired from. Someone had covered the wall with feces.

True story.

At any rate, once the Supervising Clerk found my order in the system, it was on to completing paperwork, turning in a change of address and I was out ..... after a little over an hour.

The service I signed up for is pretty nifty. I have an actual street address, the change of address form I submitted is specific for the box ... requires the post office to forward any mail coming to my address, here at the complex, into the po box; and I don’t have to drive over and check for mail. The box will notify me, via email, when mail arrives.

So my issue, with the continuous break-ins, has been solved.

As for other residents, it might not be so easily solved. Many are not healthy enough to get to the post office, or do not have transportation. They’re stuck, in limbo, until something can be worked out.

When I stop to think about it, I myself didn’t necessarily need a post office box. I could have allowed myself to live in mail limbo forever, because all the important stuff is handled online, paperless. What I do receive is two or three monthly confirmations that retirement funds have been deposited, quarterly summary of medical costs, junk mail and catalogues.

Hopefully, the junk mail and catalogues don’t make it to the po box.

For others, mail is a lot more critical, because they receive and pay for bills by mail, and depend on monthly checks … disability and otherwise.

On the other hand, though I don’t have checks for the mail box thief to abscond with, the few items I do receive carry personal information I feel safer knowing is now going to a po box, rather than to the mailbox thief to sell.

On tap for tomorrow is Shot No. 1 Pfizer vaccine.

I’ve waited, watched, and something inside tells me it’s time.

Stop Me If You Can

It’s a two post kind of day because, though it’s difficult to see through the  gate, if you look closely, you can just make out damage done to the mail center last night.

The entire left side of boxes have been peeled back like an aluminum can. It also looks like the thief had begun on the right side, where my box is located, but was interrupted. Even left his net behind.

I imagine the net is to hold his loot and, adding insult to injury, I recognize the net as having come from our pool area.

No doubt he’ll return tonight to retrieve the net, finish the job of tearing down the right side, steal what's in those boxes as well.

I couldn’t get a better photo of the damage because, when I went down this afternoon to pick up mail, discovered the damage, I couldn't get the gate to open, the mail thief has locked us residents out. LOL.

Our keys no longer work.

Only the mail thief has access now.

If I were management, I’d have the net dusted for prints before he returns tonight to retrieve it, finish his nefarious job. I'd also position someone to stake the mail center out, catch him when he returns.

Fat chance of management doing either. Too busy catching cats.

It's almost like this guy is taking all preventive measures management takes as a challenge, laughing at management ... ha ha ha, you can't stop me.

Evidently, he's right. There is no stopping him.

At any rate, it appears no one is going to receive mail for a while. We’re all going to have to go to the post office to pick it up.

After Monday's workout, I’ll be heading for the UPS store to purchase a post office box, and have all my mail forwarded to that location.

There's more than one way to skin a cat.

If At First You Don't Succeed

So, after the last mailroom break-in, management solved the problem of the dime-store handle, which was so easily hacked last weekend, by installing what looks like a duplicate dime-store handle.

Only this time, they’ve put up some sort of iron barrier behind it.

Inside View

I can’t even speculate as to how this is to prevent entry, once the outer door handle is hacked again ─ maybe the perp can't reach in or stick something in to manipulate the unlocking mechanism, but time will tell.

Speaking of firsts ... back in December, going through books stored in the outdoor storage area, I found a book I’d had for more years than I could remember. Realizing that, though I’d had it for years, I’d not read it ─ for whatever reason, I removed the book from storage and put it on the nightstand in the I’ll get around to it pile.

I finished Walter Mosley’s Blood Grove the other night (which, by the way was such a wild ride that, when I got to the end ... feeling exhausted because I felt like I was going through the experiences with him, I closed the book, took a deep breath and heard myself say to myself “That was stressful”), but well worth the read.

Last night I got started on the book I’d pulled out of storage.

How long have I had that book you ask?

Looking at the publication date of 1995, I've held onto the book for years.

It appears to be a First Edition, purchase price, back in the day, of $10.95.

Thinking it might be another found treasure, like the autographed copy of Louise Huebner I’d held onto, I did a little research and found used editions now going in the range of $60 to $120, which is meh.

This book isn’t autographed. One of my Walter Mosley books is autographed, but I’ve never had an opportunity to meet Ru.

Twin 1 did ... met Ru that is, back in June of 2019, when Twin 1 had an appearance on the set of Good Day LA to discuss her work with the homeless on Skid Row.

I’m thinking, an autograph might bump the book up a hundred or so. However, there was one seller offering a “collectible” for $4,748!

I’m not exactly sure what a “collectible” is, but good luck with that because ─ even with an autograph, that’s excessive for a used paperback with black and white photos.

Lessons Not Learned

Another quiet weekend around here, that is ..... if you don’t count when I took a stroll down to the mail center yesterday to pick up mail delivered the previous day and saw this ....

It’s difficult to see through the security gate, but the left side has been torn down, mail boxes looted.

Looking for stimulus checks, I imagine.

I’d blogged, back in early March, about installation of the security gate and door, accessed by use of our common area key. I’d commented that we should be okay insofar as break-ins “for a while”. Emphasis on “for a while” because, looking at the dime store key handle, it didn’t look like much of a challenge for a seasoned criminal to pop, unscrew or pry loose.

It appears that’s exactly how entry was made.

Then

Now

When will this management group learn you get what you pay for ─ all that iron gate and a cheap key handle.

Returning from the Pain Cave this morning, "closed" sign removed from the security gate, I was able to get a better photo of inside.

Looks like management has been able to re-secure the bottom row of boxes.

The security people, who drive around the property once a night, don’t get out of the car. They just do a loop around the property, take off and their agency gets paid.

In the upper right hand corner of the photo is a camera. Doesn’t seem to be serving a purpose insofar as identifying the culprit(s).

With management personnel living right above the mail center ─ seeming not to hear the banging and clanging of boxes being broken into, management might consider a ring camera type set up, attached to the staffers, so they can't continue to ignore.

So there’s that.

And speaking of lessons not learned, there’s this ...

With the climate being what it’s been since George Floyd was murdered by Chauvin & Company, you’d think this Virginia Cop Joe Gutierrez would know better than to harass, intimidate, pepper spray, a Black man, let alone an Army Lieutenant for no reason whatsoever. Gutierrez went so far as to threatened to have Lieutenant Nazario's commission taken away if he lodged a complaint.

In the video, Gutierrez appears to be looking for an excuse to kill Lieutenant Nazario.

The Lieutenant was smart to have driven to a lighted area and kept his hands raised, even though Gutierrez ordered him to unbuckle his seat belt because, had he lowered his hands to do so, Gutierrez would have used that movement as an excuse to shoot. Like what was done a few years back to Philando Castile.

Philando was just a passenger, disclosed he had a license to carry and, when he reached for license and registration ─ as requested even though he wasn't driving and shouldn't have been asked, the cops murdered him.

As for threatening the Lieutenant's commission, now that the world knows this happened and the Lieutenant is suing, I hope he takes Gutierrez' pension, house, car ... everything.

Since the cops can't seem to manage their hatred, maybe they'd think twice if they were made to realize how much they have to lose if they don't keep their hatred in check.

Consequences should be part of their training.

I don’t even know what to say about the latest ─ the kid murdered for having a car freshener in his rear window.

Not sure this was even a real thing, I googled “is it illegal to hang air freshener in car”. Evidently, it is in California ... “You cannot hang items, or objects, from your rear-view mirror because it could possibly obstruct your view”.

I don’t recall reading that in the DMV book or seeing it on a test, but I bet it will be covered in the next edition.

At any rate, a further example of lessons not learned ─ the cop that chose to shoot even though the atmosphere is what it is.

Caged

Having spent the entire weekend indoors, decompressing from last week’s events, i.e., the grandsons, Cat Lady, I woke up thoroughly rested and ready to experience another week of life.

It’s not my nature to be a complete slouch, so I did manage some exercise time on the indoor bike, read the instructions and learned how to use the new electric coffeemaker.

Coffee tastes less bitter and the new kettle seems to be working out well except, forgetting that after percolating it goes into keep warm mode, I burned my hand ... twice, because warm equated to scalding hot.

Since I sprung for that drive cam, that now does not work (because I evidently did something wrong) and I can’t return because I didn’t keep the packaging or receipt, I’m holding onto the percolator’s box and receipt. Which is a good thing because I almost did something that would have warranted return.

I loaded the coffeemaker with grinds and plugged into the wall yesterday. It struck me as odd that I didn’t immediately hear it percolating, but I went on with my morning. THEN, a funny smell began to permeate the unit.

I couldn’t pinpoint the smell, kept asking myself, “What’s that smell?” and had a sudden realization of having forgotten to add water to the coffeemaker.

Fortunately, I caught my mistake before the kettle blew up or turned black inside but, had either occurred, I’d have returned as defective NOT as user error. LOL.

Ready to seize this day, I headed out, had this morning’s workout, came out once again not stiff/sore, so I popped into the market where I found Lysol Spray on the shelves ─ for the first time since this pandemic began (a sign things are getting better), no limit, but only three left. I took two, returned to the complex, unloaded groceries, headed down to the mailbox and found management had finally done something about the mailbox break-ins and attempted break-ins.

It’s a security gate and door ─ evidently installed over the weekend.

I seriously doubt management did this of their own accord, more likely the post office ─ tired of their equipment being damaged, told management to do something or they’d cease deliveries to this complex.

A note indicates, to get in, we use our “common area key”.

So, unless the culprit breaking into mailboxes is a resident who has a key, or someone who has access to the key because they live with a resident, we should be okay insofar as break-ins for a while.

I say “for a while” because, looking at the handle, it doesn’t look like much of a challenge for a seasoned criminal to unscrew or pry loose.

A cage is a novel approach to doing something, and it fits quite well with the animal print manicure I gave myself over the weekend.

I did my toes as well.

I’ll leave you with my unsolicited opinion of last night’s interview ─ Oprah with Harry and Megan, which is DAMN! But not surprising because it mirrors Princess Diana’s experiences ─ loneliness, lack of support, thoughts of suicide while being a part of the Royal Family, or shall I say The Firm, or The Institution, Organization ... anyway you say it, sounds like a business.

The Firm's track record is pretty dismal (Diana, Fergie, Megan) and dispels that fantasy of “Some day my prince will come” and “They lived happily ever after”. Inasmuch as I seriously doubt Harry and Megan will be allowed to go on with their lives without interference by the royals or the press, why Megan is bringing another child into this mess is beyond me.