That’s what the weather visited upon this area all day yesterday
and, when I woke up this morning it was cats, dogs and the kitchen sink.
I was beginning to think it yet another sign of the apocalypse
and that someone should be building an ark when, along about 12:30 it suddenly
stopped and the sun actually came up.
About a month shy of completing the needlepoint project begun in
May of last year, and running out of a floss color needed for completion, I
took advantage of the break in the rain, drove to the craft store in Rancho
Cucamonga and, while waiting to check out, spied a selfie stick.
I’ve been wanting one of those for years, had off/on looked at a
few online, but was scared off because I didn’t know if my phone would fit and figuring
out how to work it looked complicated.
When granddaughter’s two BFFs visited her over the holiday, one
had a selfie stick and showed me the ropes.
I ended the lesson feeling confident, saying “I’m getting one”
and what do you know, before I could get around to deciding which one to buy, a
reasonably priced stick jumped out at the craft store. With a 40% off coupon,
the stick and floss, totaled to less than the stick alone.
Now when I take pictures of events here at the complex, I can actually include myself in them.
After the craft store, it was filling up the tank at Costco gas
and a plan to get laundry done before the clouds I saw looming over the complex
dumped another load on us.
Never made it to the laundry room. Instead, I made the mistake
of logging into facebook, where I learned the orange guy held a press
conference and, once again, spoke out of both sides of his mouth. What
fascinated me was nothing he said, but what others posted about what he said.
I was glued to the puter, laughing at how others worded what they'd gleaned from all the double talk -- fake news is okay when he uses it, but not okay when used against him, funny tweets about blackmail for the having women urinate thing, and how it is he describes himself as being an extreme germaphobe, yet has no qualms about grabbing vajajas.
The comment that struck me funniest was “He lies and lies and
lies some more. He even lies about his lies. Lying liar”.
That phrase “lying liar” is going to stay with me.
I took a moment to meditate that his supporters set aside prejudice, self interest, take blinder off and wake up.
I’m still going back and forth about that 70th
birthday party. The event is on the 29th so, if I’m not showing up,
I should let my friend know by the 27th at least. I’m so not able to make
a decision that I looked to my horoscope to decide for me.
It predicted “A fun getaway between January 12th and
February 7th.
Interesting, but it had also predicted a huge lottery win last
month.
I’m still waiting for that, so I’m not putting much faith in
this latest prediction.
At any rate, whether I end up attending or not, my wish for myself is no more party invites, so I'll not have to wrestle with these decisions in future. Invitations to 5Ks, yes. Invitations to meditation sessions, yes. But no more parties.
Yesterday’s weather was pretty perfect.
Expecting it not to be, I headed out to the locktician
(hairdresser for braids) in winter wear – leggings, long sleeve top, boots,
jean jacket, and got so hot that I dispensed with the jacket and rolled the
sleeves up.
Just in case it rained this morning, I had the inclination,
after leaving the locktician yesterday, to stop at Starbucks for a cup and a
pound, but passed because I wasn’t craving coffee.
I shoulda paid attention to that inclination, because I woke up
to a cats and dogs downpour this morning. Along about noon, it slowed down and
was off/on, so I bundled up, headed out and finally stocked up.
It’s been so long since I purchased beans that I couldn’t
remember what grind to request, so I said “For a percolator” and, just like last
time I went through a DIY period, the young barista didn’t know what a
percolator was. I ended up requesting “Not as coarse as french press”, so we’ll
see how it goes.
Just to make sure I don’t end up with grinds in the coffee, I’ll
use the pour over method suggested by Dkzody’s husband.
At any rate, what I did instead of Starbucks yesterday was to
stop by a market I probably shouldn’t mention by name, but which wasn’t Sprouts
and it wasn’t Whole Foods, and observed something that’s been bothering me ever
since because I failed to report it for fear I’d be perceived as over reacting.
The guy on his knees, stocking the eggs, was acting like an out
of control pervert. Instead of focusing on his stacking, he was not so
surreptitiously looking left and right and, when a female customer turned the corner,
he’d stare at her lower extremity.
I don’t recall seeing anyone in a dress or skirt, so he wasn’t
able to look up, but when a young girl walked through in shorts, the way he
leered was unconscionable.
I know all guys check out females, but the way this guy was
doing so, and where he was looking was disgusting. He struck me as the kind of
guy to hide video equipment in the women’s bathroom.
In reaching for eggs and milk, I was positioned dangerously
close to him and he turned and looked directly at my lower front extremity, so close that his face was almost in it and,
when I began walking away, he turned to look at the back view.
A modest individual, when wearing leggings I usually have a
sweat shirt tied around my waist. But because I’d dressed for winter, with that
jean jacket, and then had taken the jean jacket off, and leggings hugging like
a second skin, I felt fully exposed under his glare.
The guy was so creepy, and I so unnerved, that I actually put the milk back and
walked away. I’d have put the eggs back as well, but didn’t want to give him
another front view.
I so wanted to report what he was doing but, looking at all the
guys behind the manager counter, I didn’t think they’d understand how
inappropriate he was being and how uncomfortable it made me feel to not only experience it, but to see him doing it to unsuspecting others.
It’s been bothering me ever since that I did nothing and, after watching the courage of Meryl
Streep as she schooled the orange guy, I will never let something like that go again. Should
our paths cross again, and I hope they do so I can get this off my chest, you can be sure I’ll lodge a complaint because “There may be
no harm in looking ... it may be that most guys do", but this guy was carrying it to
the extreme when he should have been focusing on his duties.
Or maybe I’ll just go for the jugular and shock the perpetrator out of it with, “What
you’re doing is really creepy. You’re a pervert and need to get yourself some
help”.
Yesterday was my first senior moment of the year.
The plan had been to get out and take care of business early, just
in case the rain decided to make another appearance. I didn’t even take time
for breakfast after bathing, dressing, makeup. It was hit the University’s
PokéStops first, then the ATM next door to Starbucks for cash, then Starbucks
for a Venti Coffee and a pound of coffee for home.
Heading out the door to the car, I snuck a peek at the
downstairs neighbor’s patio to check for mess caused by mud washing down from
mine.
No mess at all.
The rain had washed her patio clean.
At the University, I managed to hit up 31 PokéStops and logged
in 2.45 miles before the foot began to ache. The balls collected at the stops
still were not enough because, now at Level 22, it’s getting harder and harder
to catch Pokémon. The little buggers fight more, break free more often, require
more balls to be brought down.
It’s getting a little frustrating.
At any rate, after leaving the University, I headed to Starbucks,
parked in the lot, took out my ATM card and wondered why I was doing so.
“Why am I heading to the
ATM ... Do I plan to go to the market this morning?"
I wracked my brain, couldn’t figure out what I needed cash for, but
decided to go with the flow, get the cash, figure out why later.
After picking up my regular Venti Coffee, returning to the
complex around 11:30 -- starved out of my mind for breakfast, just as I pulled
into my parking space and went to turn the ignition off was when I heard myself
say to myself …. “Oh Crap! …You forgot
the coffee!”
And, of course, I woke up to rain this morning, with more
predicted to come.
It rained non-stop all night Wednesday and all day Thursday.
If I wanted Starbucks yesterday, and of course I did, I would
have had to swim for it, so I passed and stayed indoors.
In one aspect, the rain was a good thing because, after removing
the Christmas patio decorations, I was faced with a lot of leaves and areas of
dirt on the concrete patio which, because of all the rain and items preventing
it washing away, had pooled and turned to mud.
Removing the leaves wasn’t a problem but, inasmuch as I’ve got a
neighbor underneath me, washing away the mud with soapy water was out of the
question. I'd tried sweeping it up, mopping it up, and all that did was spread wet mess around even more. So, I’d had to sit and look at it, waiting for rain so I could use
the patio broom to dislodge and the rain to wash it away.
Muddy water would, of course, have washed down onto my
neighbor’s patio, but the causation being rain – an Act of God, I’d be off the
hook as a bad neighbor.
So when I heard the rain start up Wednesday night, it was all
“finally ... at last”. I just didn’t know it was going to be all day as well.
So there I was, 6:00 yesterday morning, rain drops falling on my
head, hoping all the neighbors in the quad were still asleep, or at least way
too occupied to see the crazy lady sprinkling washing soda and scrubbing her
patio.
I was curious as all heck to see what the downstairs neighbor’s
patio ended up looking like, but it never stopped raining long enough for me to
check it out. Hopefully, her patio got enough rain to wash away whatever
dribbled down from mine. If not, oh well, she has no one underneath her and can
easily wash it away with a couple buckets of water. She can’t hose her patio
down because that Nurse Ratched character who’d previously managed the complex
had, in her insane wisdom of making sure the drought restrictions were complied
with, had ordered maintenance to cut off all the water spigots.
The new complex manager found it strange there are no spigots
and, fortunately, I just happened to be present when she questioned it. I
informed her it was her predecessor’s bright idea, which predecessor I described
to her as a terrible human, only I used the word “beoch”.
I asked if spigots could be reinstalled, have not yet heard back
on that, but I’m sure Corporate isn’t going to want to go to the expense, as
the owners appear to be entering 2017 very budget conscious, giving us low-end
activities, and even economizing by putting an end to free cable beginning February 1.
That's sure to be a hot topic at the next Management/Residents meeting.
The goal today is to get off the computer, away from the television, and outside to take care of business just in case the rain
starts up again. I'll get coffee, and pick up a pound so I won't get stuck without for when the next storm predicted by the weatherman comes. I also need PokéBalls because oddly enough, the rain didn’t stop my PokémonGo activities.
A few Clefairy, Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Charmander ran indoors to get away from
the rain and I managed to catch them without getting off the couch.
I don't want to park off the University campus and have to walk on the sore foot for a distance, so I'll spring for 1 hour parking, gather as much as I can without too much walking, and head back.
Every year I get all the Christmas decorations packed away and,
a day or so later, find some little something I missed. Last year, it was the
wreath on the door. This year it was this little guy that didn’t register until
this morning.
It’s a candy dish, but I switch out the regular holder at Christmas
with this Santa, and at Halloween with a spooky holder.
I have a feeling that if I pull the patio decorations out of
storage for Christmas 2017, I’m going to find mold, mildew and rust, because it
never got warm enough to dry everything out, so items were packed away damp.
They were all outdoor decorations, but it had rained so often and so hard, that
I saw rust forming on metal parts and whatever that fabric was on the drums
needed some serious sunlight to dry out, which it didn’t get; also, I was so not
careful pushing the three-tier tree into storage that the tiers became
unhinged, which means the whatever controls the lights probably got
disconnected and might not work next time.
Oh well, no biggie. I’m not even sure I’ll be in the Christmas
Spirit end of year and if I am, I’ll toss out the old mold mildew rusted and
bring in some new.
New neighbor’s furniture arrived today. She’s got good taste. Before
I lost interest and went back to my needlepoint, I saw a Tiffany Lamp and ginormous
flat screen appear.
Would you believe I did it again?
I rsvp’d “yes” to a party invitation when I know I don’t like
parties and always immediately begin looking for a way out.
On the rare occasion I receive a party invitation, attending
seems like such a good idea. Then I get to thinking … thinking about not
fitting in because I don’t dance, except for line dancing, don’t drink, can’t
eat most of what’s served, and usually don’t know anyone other than the host or
hostess.
In this case, in attendance will be folks I worked with back in
the 60’s, but I seriously doubt I’ll recognize or remember any of them. I never
paid much attention to them in the first place and, unlike the friend who sent
me the invite, haven’t stayed in touch with or thought about them over the
years.
The hostess in this case is the woman I’ve been friends with for
over 40 years -- this is the friend I’d blogged about in 2015 that invited me to a monthly luncheon
she started up with those still living and retired from the group we worked
with back-in-the-day.
Not sure if I mentioned, but she’d also called because an old
male friend wanted to be put in contact with me – was asking for my telephone
number.
I’d, of course, declined the monthly luncheon because I didn’t
remember the others much and wasn’t interested in becoming reacquainted.
Same with the guy.
Though I’d been interested in becoming involved back in the day,
we never got beyond the friend zone. Now, with so many years separating then from
now, what could we possibly talk about? So no … tell him to add me as a
Facebook friend, if he likes, but do not give him my telephone number.
The occasion this time is her husband’s 70th Birthday, which actually sounded like it might be a good time until I began
thinking about how I’d not fit in and don’t care to socialize on a party level.
So here I am again, wanting out of a commitment, except I was a
little smarter this time in that I rsvp’d “Yes, barring unforeseen
circumstances”, which gives me if not a door at least a window through which to
escape.
Unforeseen circumstances can simply be my saying, “Sorry, but I
won’t be driving down that way after all” with no further explanation -- except
I’m not completely sure I don’t want to step out of my comfort zone and go.
I've already cancelled the hotel, but have not yet let my friend
know I won’t be coming because every time I think about letting her know, my
mind is like “Yes, No, Maybe, I Dunno”.
I can always re-book the hotel, even if it’s the day of.
I just need clarity as to a definite yes
or no.
Much as I wanted 2016 to loop, 2017 never to come, it is in fact
2017.
It’s blistery outside, but not yet raining -- hopefully
will not and the sun is trying its best to shine, which is a good omen.
I’ve got the inside decorations all wrapped up ready to go back
into storage and, with a little luck, the patio decorations will dry out and I
can get everything into storage by end of day.
Would you believe I found yet another lost item?
Coming back from Starbucks yesterday, I spotted a key card lying
on the walkway – a key card used by residents to scan into the mechanism that
opens the gate to resident parking.
Mine has a sticker with my unit number on the back but, of
course, the one I found has no such marking, so I couldn’t walk it over to the
owner. It does have an identification number -- a number only the office can
associate with a resident and, inasmuch as the office is closed until Tuesday,
I can’t turn it in until then.
That means the owner of the key card was not able to get their
car back inside the gate to park if they left the building yesterday afternoon,
won’t be able to reenter today and tomorrow. They’ll have to wait for another
car to use their key card and follow that car in which, during daylight hours is
pretty frequent. Not so much at night, and there is no overnight parking
outside the gate.
It’s a $50 replacement fee for a new key card so, if I were the
owner, I’d be very happy to receive a call from the office, on Tuesday, to come pick up
their found card.
I don’t know what’s up with this finding things, but can’t wait
to see what I come across next.
Before management took off for the Holiday, they distributed
January’s Activity Calendar.
January 6, 1:00 – 2:00 Class: My 3 Health Goals
January 6, 3:00 – 4:00 Price is Right
January 13, 10:00 – 11:00: 52 Week Money Challenge
January 13, 11:00 – 2:00 Bingo
January 20, 4:00 – 5:00: Stress Less in 2017
January 27, 10:00 – 11:00: Bingo
January 27, 12:00 – 1:00 Hot Cocoa and Cookie Social
Since the folks have all been such downers lately, I’ve not been
hanging out with them much, so I doubt I’ll be participating in anything other
than the 52-Week Money Challenge session.
As for the Cookie Social, I still have those Trader Joe’s Gingerbread
Molasses bake and serve cookies to get rid of, so that’s a strong maybe.
