Liar Liar Pants on Fire

So it will come as no surprise to long time readers well-acquainted with Nurse Ratched’s talking out of both sides of her mouth with that forked tongue of hers that, once again, termite control was a no show. Instead, Ratched herself made an appearance to “take pictures for termite control, because they need the information to determine which kind of chemicals to bring.”

To bring?

They’re supposed to be here already.

So that’s Lie No. 1 because her reply to my latest missive was …“I have an appointment for this Wednesday May 4th, with a pest control company who specializes in termites.”

Today is May 4.

Lie No. 2 was when, during her picture taking session, she blurted out that, in a phone call conversation with termite control, they’d indicated tenting, but “You’re the only one with this problem. No one else is having a problem.”

If that’s true, why then did she announce at last week’s Residents/Management meeting that there are five units with the problem. And, I don’t believe for one second, this is the only unit in the complex with this problem. Like I said before, I don’t know much about termites, but the idea of an infestation not spreading from unit to unit, building to building, doesn’t seem plausible to me. She just doesn’t want to go to the expense of tenting.

I even asked, “Did you check with my downstairs neighbor?”

I could tell it was Lie No. 3 when she nodded yes.

She didn’t realize it but, during her entire inspection, I surreptitiously recorded her every word on the cell phone … for my protection, later, when she tries to lie herself out of consequences. Plus, even though she’s a big old liar, it’s good she showed up because, with termite control once again being a no show, my next move was to reply to Corporate’s curt “Issues such as these do not need to be emailed to the corporate office. The Community Staff can handle any and all issues related to pest control”. My response was to be “That is the point I am making with emails to corporate …that Staff is NOT handling the issues and living conditions have become intolerable.”

At any rate, inasmuch as the termites have made of me a prisoner in the unit … unable to leave for more than an hour because I need to catch them coming in and spray them to death before they reach the bed, the couch, the walls, get too deep into the unit, looks like I’ll be cancelling that meditation retreat.

I don’t want to gross you out, but this is just a sampling of the ones I killed today.

The more I think about it, these termites may not only be life’s way of pushing me to open myself up to change, but is also telling me to not go to the expense of a retreat this year (hotel and class fees total a little over $1,000 ) when the money can be better served towards movers.

As I've indicated in previous posts, I am an individual who is slow to burn. It takes a lot and it takes a long time before I'm done, but once I'm done, I'm done.

First it was the theft of my favorite belt and now it's this termite situation, ongoing since April 17. So, at this point, a move is definite. Whether the move is sooner or later, depends on 1) If termite controls shows up and gets things under control so I can bide my time until the lease expires and 2) How soon I’m led to my new right place.

On another note, the monthly calendar came out yesterday.

·         Mothers Day Potluck, Friday, May 13

·         Monday, May 16, Bi-Annual Inspection All Units

·         Tuesday, May 17, Residents/Management Meeting

·         Friday, May 27, Arts & Crafts

They’re Ba-ack

The termites, that is.

They began swarming down from the patio window and, simultaneously, the bedroom window yesterday afternoon.

The products I’ve been using appear to have slowed them down, discouraged them for a time, but not completely quelled their nature to swarm, mate, search for a location to start a new colony.

With no regard for interfering with their love life/search for a new home, I foamed and sprayed ‘em to death and fired off another missive to Nurse Ratched and Corporate.

Corporate replied, “Issues such as these do not need to be emailed to the corporate office. The Community Staff can handle any and all issues related to pest control.”

I’m going to wait until I calm down before I reply, something along the line of “So whose responsibility is it when Staff does not handle the issues?”

I imagine no area is free of infestations of one kind or another and, because this area used to be horse farms, orange groves, and we’re in a valley, surrounded by hills, mountains and fields, we’re subject to more than our share.

Someone spotted a snake the other day – not the first time, and ants are a big problem for quite a few residents, including my next door neighbor.

I also recently learned an interesting fact … this area has ties to the Donner Party, the pioneers who were stuck in the mountains the winter of 1846-1847 and resorted to cannibalism to survive. One of the survivors ended up in this area, prospered and became one of its biggest landowners.

That’s got nothing to do with pests, I don’t think. Just an interesting fact I thought I’d mention, though there are rumors that some of the land in surrounding areas is cursed, bad things happen on the land, and ghostly apparitions have been spotted on some of the streets late at night.

If I had to choose between ghostly apparitions, living on cursed land, or termites, I think I’d take the apparitions because they’re outside, not inside, and I’m rarely ever out at night.

At any rate, Ratched’s reply to my latest missive was a quasi apology for the “pest control” guy not showing up last Wednesday, but that “I have an appointment for this Wednesday May 4th, with a pest control company who specializes in termites. My regular pest control guy does not treat for termites.”

Tell me something I don’t already know and hadn’t pointed out to her at least three times before, in the Residents'/Management meeting and subsequent emails – that her pest control guy did not treat the unit and cannot treat the unit because he is not equipped to handle termites … that a termite specialist needs to be called in.

So, I’ve scrapped plans to drive out-of-the area to mall walk tomorrow and instead will be once again waiting for this “pest control company who specializes in termites”.

If they don’t show up tomorrow, I’m taking it as a sign that, much as I like this unit, I should open myself to the idea of relocating, and my next missive to Nurse Ratched will be a request for information as to when my lease expires because, “due to the intolerable living conditions created by the termite infestation” I will not be renewing.

Will Walk for Bling

Stepping out of the medical building in Redlands, after having finally complied with that request for a blood pressure check, I looked up and WOW!

It was like the area was surrounded by and sitting in the middle of clouds.

Complying with the doctor’s orders wasn’t the reason I’d finally capitulated and checked in. The real reason – the main reason was I’m almost finished with my latest needlepoint project.

The Wind at His Back

I’m maybe a month shy of finishing and am so excited about my next project that I couldn’t wait to run by the craft store to purchase floss for that project. The medical facility is about 3 miles away, so I was able to kill two birds with one stone.

On the way to the craft store which, incidentally, is located steps away from a Starbucks, I noticed a new structure – a luxury apartment complex.

What a great location, thought I. Lots of places to walk, surrounded by not one, not two, but three malls … all within walking distance, across the street from Starbucks and the craft store. It’s not a senior complex and, unless I win the lottery, I had only to look at the building and instantly know it was way out of my price range. However, out of curiosity, I researched the place when I got back to the complex. Apartments range from $1,600 – $2,685 a month!

A lottery win wouldn’t last very long at those prices.

At any rate, the blood pressure was a little higher than it should be. I’m sure it’s because I’ve been so lazy lately, not wanting to get off the couch, not walking.

I do enjoy being lazy but, after what happened recently to one of our residents, I’m reminded of the benefits of being active. The resident recently had a stroke and, last I heard, she was hospitalized. When I asked about her yesterday, I learned she’d returned home, had a few fainting spells, followed by another stoke, along with a heart attack, and was now unable to be left alone. Her family has already moved her out of the complex and in with a relative in Los Angeles.

Fainting Spells ... Stroke ... Heart Attack ... Not to mention all the hip and knee replacements going on around here ... That’s motivation enough for me.

A facebook friend has been trying to gather up the troops to participate in a Naked 5K.

Seriously.

Naked.

I didn’t see mention of a medal and wonder what it would look like if there were one; however, I declined saying, “If I were younger and had a better body.”

Really, I would have … that is so long as I were younger, had a better body and could at least wear running shoes and socks.

Then I received notice of a Mother’s Day 5K, with an awesome medal.

I do love the bling, so I’m in.

Arts and Crafts Part 3

It was a fun morning in the Community Room, with the new Activity Director showing us how to personalize coffee mugs.

The Activity Director informed us that she showed up last Friday with all her supplies, not knowing the office and Community Room were inaccessible that day because staff had taken the day off.

She’d better get accustomed to it, I thought to myself, because it wasn’t the first time and won’t be the last. Others said out loud, “We didn’t know either.” I then mentioned that we usually just set up in the outside patio area and go on with our planned activity.

Activity Director said she’d thought about that, but it was too hot that day for seniors to be out in the sun, and she was right … it would have been miserable; plus, we would have had no access to the Community Room kitchen, and the cups require baking. I suppose we could have baked the cups in our own ovens, and hoped to have done it correctly and not exploded them, but she made the right choice to pack up and call it a day.

The process for this morning’s Sharpie Mugs -- which is what they’re called, was quite easy and involved black or clear coffee cups, various colored sharpies, and stickers – mostly letters for initials, but other decorative embellishments.

After selecting and applying self-adhesive stickers to the mug, we were instructed to pick a sharpie color or colors, use that sharpies to tap dots around the sticker to create a stencil, then remove the sticker. From there, we could dot colors inside the stencil or outside and around the stencil.

I quickly snagged a clear, because it looked like that’s the direction everyone was going and there weren’t enough clear for all of us. I then decided to free-hand dots, rather than use stickers. Deciding on lips and hearts for my cup, I first drafted smiling lips on paper as a go-by for one side of the cup, open lips with teeth for the other side of the cup.

You can see the designs better with background paper in the cup, so here you go.

And here’s what some of the others came up with.

After we were done, the Activity Director placed our mugs on a cookie sheet, heated the oven to 350°F, and set the timer for 30 minutes bake, telling us to allow another 30 minutes to cool … come back at 1:00.

The Arts and Crafts portion of this morning’s program over, it was now noon and someone was setting up a lunch of sliders which, of course the price for a free lunch was sitting in on a presentation – this one on burial insurance.

One might think such a presentation as morbid, especially as a topic for lunch. We don’t see it that way but, nevertheless, these things bore me, so I opted instead to head back to my unit for a lunch of ramen noodles.

And, yes, I know ramen noodles are not clean eating, furthermore are bad for you, but they’re quick, easy, cheap and I like ‘em.

At any rate, I went back down at 1:00 sharp, to pick up my cup before some dishonest individual walked through the Community Room and disappeared it.

The only downside to Sharpie Mugs is they can’t be soaked in water without the color running or coming off completely.

I’ll be using my cup for decorative purposes only.

I’ve liked all the Activity Directors we’ve had in the past, but I really really really like this girl and hope Nurse Ratched doesn’t run her off.

Arts and Crafts Part 2

Checking into the Community Room this morning, I learned Arts and Crafts: Personalized Mug has been rescheduled for tomorrow morning.

This is the class scheduled for last Friday, by the new Activity Director -- the class that didn’t materialize because Nurse Ratched closed the office and locked up the Community Room.

I also learned this morning that Apache took a photo of the “closed” signs and forwarded them to Corporate, and other agencies involved in the welfare of seniors, reporting that residents were given no notice of the closure and had an event scheduled that day.

Nurse Ratched has been reported before – many times, with no consequences; so doubting there’d be anything different this time, I just chalked it up as par for the course and had pretty much decided to drop out when and if the class was rescheduled.

However, I do enjoy crafting and have decided to once again pull myself together first thing tomorrow, so I can make the 9:00 activity. Hopefully Nurse Ratched is satisfied with having proved her point to the new Activity Director– that she is in control, and won’t be shutting us out tomorrow morning as well.

Before leaving the Community Room to head back to my unit, I was asked if Termite Control had shown up on Wednesday, as Nurse Ratched stated in last week’s Resident’s/Management meeting they would, with the temporary fix of injecting whatever it is they inject into the walls.

That would be “no”, they did not show up. However, I went on to say, it’s no longer of concern to me as I’ve solved my own problem … discouraged the termites from dropping into my unit by saturating the entry areas with product.

I wondered out loud what the other residents being plagued by termites are doing. No one knows who those residents are but all said it can’t be good that termites are in the wood … gnawing and chewing away at the foundation, and they all pretty much said what was said in Dkzody's comment that tenting would be required, not injection.

Inasmuch as I’ve concluded this complex has morphed into a money making enterprise, the goal of which is to take in as much money as you can, put out as little as you can in expenditures, I’d be very surprised if the long-term solution of tenting comes into play.

However, taking into consideration the temperament of Nurse Ratched -- and how it is she likes to punish, retaliate, there is a faint possibility she might think tenting would inconvenience us all and discourage future complaints.

There are twelve units in this building – four on my side, four on the front side, four on the back side. On my side there are 1-1/2 vacancies – the downstairs unit underneath my next door neighbor and the unit underneath me … the one with the neighbor boxed up and halfway out but still there. All four units on the front are occupied. There are some vacancies on the back side, but I don’t know how many.

At any rate, I don’t know what everyone else will do in the event of tenting, but I find myself already visualizing where I’d like to go for however long I’m locked out.

I’m leaning towards a hotel in downtown Long Beach, near the beach and Rainbow Lagoon area -- where there’s nice places to walk, sights to see and my favorite Mexican restaurant … SuperMex. On the other hand, it depends on how well I like the Venice Beach area, where I’m scheduled for meditation retreat May 13-15.

The best possible outcome, if tenting is utilized, would be tenting May 13-15 when I’m already out of town.

Bloom Where Planted

This morning was my scheduled visit to the locktician (braid stylist). She recently moved the location of her shop to an area where there must be a lot of old folks because, after getting off the freeway, I passed six senior complexes.

It’s a good area, big shopping center nearby, restaurants, shops, two walking trails.

In spite of the lack of activities and poor management, I like where I’m living. My unit is in a good location on the property, I feel safe and everything I need is nearby or a short drive. However, it pays to be aware so, on the drive back, I made note of the names of the complexes, so I could research them … just in case.

Two turned out to be Assisted Living.

The other four were Active Living and looked to be places I might consider in future if need be … that is, until I read the reviews.

Complex No. 1: “Thus far there have been 4 onsite managers and 2 mgmt companies and no consistency between any of them. Each complex is individually owned and under an association, but not all owners care about the upkeep of their properties the same way. Some just collect the rent and make no effort. All in all I'm happy with my apartment, but feel improvements should be made to ensure consistency and upkeep here.”

Sounds similar to my situation here, where I’m happy with my apartment but management is blah.

Complex No. 2: “I wouldn't live here for the amount of money they're charging. Whomever I spoke to about the property was very rude, and the establishment seemed very unprofessional. They tried to tell me they are the cheapest apartments in the area. That's because they don't have in home laundry and they have to have a sign on their pool that says to make sure you don't have diarrhea. No thanks.”

Complex No. 3: “You get what you pay for here. It may be cheaper than other places and if you move in you’ll see why. I’ve yet to hear a single resident say how great it is to live here. Staff is indifferent, maintenance is very slow at fixing things, and the atmosphere is very depressing. Much more I could say but I think you get the idea.”

Complex No. 4: “Place was horrible, staff didn’t care about anything but money. The residents were grouchy as hell. A black man threatened to kill my grandfather because the parking was compact and he claimed he parked too close. Lastly the staff called my grandparents’ Doctors trying to have their healthcare revoked cause they moved from there crappy shoe box apartments! Pathetic.”

It appears the various management companies are operating under the same playbook insofar as how seniors and senior complexes are to be handled … treat them like children, take away their toys, take their money, ignore their requests.

I even researched the senior complex I had to leave because a relative needed me to relocate to Long Beach. I was happy with neighbors at that complex, had a good relationship with management, and lived there seven years until I foolishly put the welfare of a relative before my own and relocated to Long Beach to provide a place for that relative to live so as to keep her from a shelter or the streets.

"No good deed goes unpunished", so that episode in life turned into a horrible nightmare … for me, which led me back to the Inland Empire area and this particular complex, which was like Paradise under property management in charge at the time.

At any rate, like I said, I researched the senior complex where I use to live and found a review indicating it too has turned to the dark side.

“Absolutely terrible place. My Mom used to live here, management has changed, and for the worse. They had a little sitting area where they would sit, they took it away. Some of the old folks would smoke, yes it's bad for you, but they are outside, and my goodness it was a social thing, and then they told all these little old people you can't even smoke outside anywhere, and you now have to go through the locked gate. The area isn't safe, and not to mention that you have young people housing in with the old folks who are not supposed to be there, being really rude to other tenants. They even took away their coffee and doughnut time. Not like these folks have a lot to look forward too. Sad, sad place.”

Looks like things could be worse, so I’m good where I am and will continue to bloom, stand in the light, despite the darkness around me.

Also on the way back, I stopped at Sprouts for supplies and saw something interesting.

Striped Bell Peppers

Could this be the result of genetic engineering … like what they’re doing with animals?

I can’t tell you how the striped bell peppers taste because, when I went to pick one out for purchase, they all felt soft. I like my peppers firm.