Thank goodness I signed off on Pizza Tuesday last week and
didn’t have to go down to the Community Room this morning, because I only got
about three hours sleep last night.
Wide awake until around 3:30 A.M., I blamed it on the
combination of Spring Forward, Full Moon, and the 3.6 earthquake, which shook
the crap out of the building and me at 10:07 last night.
Online at the time of the quake, one Facebook friend reported shelves
falling down.
Inasmuch as the problem with the modem, which caused me to be
offline all day Sunday and half day Monday, was no longer an issue, I’d
cancelled this morning’s appointment with the technician some time after
midnight.
Big mistake!
Huge mistake!
I awoke at 7:00 this morning to find the lights on the modem
once again out.
It was inconceivable to me that the modem could go off, on, off
again at random.
I deduced something mysterious was amiss.
Question is ….. was it mystical or should I be suspicious?
After all, KellyAnn did advise us to beware our electronics.
But seriously, the rescheduled technician due to arrive between
4:00 and 5:00, I found myself watching the modem to see if it was a glitch of the
lights going on only at a particular time of day, but
they never came back on.
The technician arrived 4:00 sharp, pronounced the modem an older model, put in a newer modem; pronounced the wires in the wall old, probably from 20 years ago when the building was built, put in new wall wires and pronounced me good to go at 4:21.
I'm back online. Modem lights are blinking, but I'm holding my breath/crossing my fingers for what awaits me tomorrow
morning.
Woke up yesterday to no internet service.
Customer service was unable to restart remotely, so I filled the
time with household chores, needlepoint and, as the television was working just
fine, catching up on recorded programs.
It would have been all over had the television also been inoperable.
I would have booked a hotel room near the beach because, though I can live a
day or two or three without internet service, the noise from the television is
like background music to my existence. Sadly, I literally cannot live without
it.
Today was to be more of the same, as I had a dental appointment
and could not be home for a technician to check out the modem, thus had
scheduled the appointment for tomorrow.
Visits to the dentist are not something I look forward
to, I also don’t mind so much because I have a good rapport with the hygienist and
the dental office is next door to Souplantation, where I always stop after for
lunch.
Arriving back at the complex, I noticed lights back to blinking
on the modem.
Could it be?
Sure enough, I logged onto the computer and found I’m mysteriously
back online.
Cable companies recently undergoing some sort of merger/shakeup,
instructing us to Keep Calm, I’m hoping this offline/online isn’t going to be a
regular occurrence, especially since the recent merger/shakeup, along with the complex no
longer providing bundled basic cable for its residents, has upped my bill to double
what it previously was.
I’m not the only one, and fortunately I've been able to comfortably fit the bill doubling into my budget even before the windfall. So though I think we're being taken advantage of, it's no problem for me. However, it's causing a hardship for the seniors already struggling to afford medication and food. One resident's bill went from $71 to $175.
Residents now being charged for basic cable, and now no cable television in the Community Room – because Corporate doesn’t want to pay for it, I
expect this coming Thursday’s Resident/Management meeting to be a
contentious affair.
I’ve a new neighbor already.
Hearing the door open/close and voices coming from the unit
underneath me – the one vacated about two weeks ago, I assumed it was a
cleaning crew. However, the door opening/closing and voices late at night, I
became fairly certain our quad was full up with residents again.
Then, standing
on the porch chit chatting with the next door neighbor yesterday, we caught a
quick glimpse of a woman going in with groceries. Neighbor yelled out a
greeting to her, did not get a response so, though I’ve not seen a moving van,
I am now fully certain our quad is full up with residents again.
Don’t know if the lack of response was because she didn’t hear
the greeting, but she clearly saw us and, had it been me, I’d have waived and
introduced myself. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt in that sometimes people are so
damaged by how it was where they’re moving from that it takes time to realize we’re safe
and friendly here.
At any rate, filling the vacancy was amazingly fast. We must have a waiting list again.
Noise doesn’t bother me, but I try to be considerate of those
who are bothered. Sounds from that unit into mine travels -- I could hear a
former tenant’s snoring, so I’m sure the reverse is true of my sounds being
heard. Consequently, I try to keep the sound down on the television when I turn
it on too early in the morning, run it all day into late at night.
It doesn’t matter to me whether or not she becomes friendly, I just
hope she isn’t a complainer.
Speaking of too early in the morning … with nothing major on my
mind and no pull on my time – now that Pizza Tuesday is off my plate and I’m no longer expecting a message from
granddaughter at any time asking for assistance in running an errand, I was
looking forward to a deep long undisturbed sleep, but heard the cellphone beep
twice with a message.
Deep in sleep on the first beep, I heard it but didn’t fully
awaken. However, the second beep brought me fully awake at 5:15 -- which IS late for me, but not as late as I'd hoped to sleep this morning.
It was some dumb “look at this” video from the resident who’d
agreed to do the next Pizza Tuesday, and it wasn’t her first time sending me
crap. I don’t know if it’s because she doesn’t know how to post to Facebook without sending to friends via messenger or if she’s overly friending me
because I’m close to Apache and now that they’re recently a couple if it’s a
situation of keep your friends close and those you feel too close to your man
closer.
At any rate, I decided to solve the messenger situation by blocking
her and unfollowing him. I unfollowed him not because of her but because he’s
all of a sudden posting pro-trump. Apache is entitled to his opinion, but the
postings led to disappointment in him, followed by losing respect for him, so bye boy.
Why am I no longer expecting a message from granddaughter at any
time asking for assistance in running an errand you ask.
Her being gifted with a car freed me up quite a bit then, last
weekend, she relocated back to Long Beach for purpose of completing her degree to become a History teacher. The bulk of her friends and family are in that area, so hopefully she'll count on them as her support network.
There is actually now nothing holding me in place and, with that
extra income due to kick in shortly, for the first time in my life I am totally
free to have, go, be, do. Except, I’m 73 years old and now don’t want to have, go, be, do a
bloody thing.
Age may be nothing but a number, but it definitely is a limitation.
That big deal inspection – something to do with tax credits, was
a two-day affair.
Day 1 was devoted to outside -- groups being walked around by
Complex Management, looking at landscaping, paint, checking things attached to buildings
for stability.
Day 2 (yesterday) was looking at the inside of individual units
for condition of carpet, paint, plumbing, fixtures, blinds, smoke detectors,
etc.
The notice we received indicated units would be selected at “random”.
Nothing to do with us residents, I’m sure. More to keep
management honest by not allowing management to show well-maintained units,
hide those units management elected not to keep repairs up on.
It’s too bad this big deal inspection didn’t happen last summer
when I had termites streaming into the unit and couldn’t get that mean Nurse
Ratched to call termite control.
Now that Nurse Ratched is out-of-the-picture, I don’t think
management has anything to worry about. I’d be very surprised if they did not
pass the inspection with flying colors.
Not knowing if my unit would be one of the “random”, but hoping it
would be so I could lay a subliminal guilt trip on the woman from Corporate who
stole my favorite belt during a previous inspection, I posed the replacement
belt on the counter by the front door where her eyes couldn’t miss it coming
into the unit and exiting the unit.
It looks identical to the pilfered belt, but you know how it is with the loss of a treasured object, this one just doesn’t feel the
same.
I’d like to see the belt thief feel guilty enough to mysteriously re-appear the original belt outside my door. In return, she’d find this duplicate mysteriously
appear on her car – a trade.
Not likely to happen, especially since the inspection is over
and my unit was not one of the random, but I can dream.
Nothing else on tap for us seniors remainder of the week, actually nothing on tap remainder of the month except for the St Patrick's Day Ice Cream social on the 17th and, of course, Pizza Tuesday will go on.
Feeling a little guilty myself for not being able to handle the Activity Director's failure to follow through and management's mixed messages, I asked around and found them a replacement for next Tuesday -- one of the only two residents I've allowed to facebook friend me. It occurs to me that next door neighbor might also be willing to take a turn, so I'll ask her and then I'll be completely guilt free and done with it.
Immediately after this morning’s Pizza Tuesday, I turned in my
resignation.
On my way to the Community Room, around 9:45, I saw the
maintenance guys and the Community Manager running around like chickens with their
heads cut off. There were a lot of Corporate types on the property, including
the woman who stole my favorite belt during an inspection.
Seeing all the activity, I became fairly certain the guys wouldn’t
be able to handle delivery this morning, but pressed on to the Community Room
just in case, with a stop by the Assistant Manager’s Office to ask if she could
pull up the sign-in sheet I usually get from the manager.
She could not, but gave me a blank sheet to use as sign-in.
Some of the residents were already seated in the Community Room,
awaiting delivery when I arrived and, as others arrived, the question being
asked of me was, “Are there going to be pizzas today?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure”, says I.
After about 30 minutes, I called Activity Director and advised that,
due to the inspection, I did not think the guys would be picking up and making
delivery.
She assured me they would.
I asked if she could confirm that with the Manager.
She said she would.
Shortly after that, one of the maintenance guys walked through
the Community Room. I asked him if there was to be a delivery this morning.
He assured me there would be.
Seeing that the Community Manager was back in her office,
surrounded by the belt thief and other Corporate types, I interrupted just long
enough to ask for a proper sign-in sheet.
“I’m sorry. There isn’t going to be a delivery today because of
the inspection”, said she.
“Okay”, said I but walked away confused, prompting me to respond
to those asking, “I don’t know. I’m not sure. I’m getting mixed answers, but I’ll
sit here until 11:30 just to be sure”.
I never did hear back from Activity Director.
Along about 11:00, the Community Manager runs out of her office,
over to me with a proper sign-in sheet saying, “A resident volunteered to pick
up the pizzas”.
Pizzas arrived shortly after 11:30, everyone was happy – except for
the woman who says she’s taking for others and walks away with pizzas and bowls
of chicken and other items by the dozen. She wasn’t happy because, not knowing
if there was to be a delivery, she’d returned to her unit. By the time she
learned delivery had been made, other residents had an opportunity to partake
ahead of her, little was left, and she was lucky to have gotten a pizza for
herself.
There were however six bags of bread sticks.
She walked away with four.
At any rate, as soon as I got back to my unit, I texted Activity
Director that the chaos, confusion, mixed messages as to whether or not there’d be a
delivery was more than I could handle. That I quit.
Though it had a factor in my being done, I didn’t mention her
failure to follow through on that notice to residents as to why
sign in.
Her response to my resignation was to thank me for the help and
that “Unfortunately, today was a very busy day with inspection.”
No sh*t Sherlock!
Did I not tell her THAT in the first place and ask her to confirm?
At any rate, I’m done. My time is my own again.
Good luck finding another sucker.
Last few days have been spent paying the price for
indiscriminate eating.
I’m thinking it wasn’t so much the sugar, as it was the wheat in
those Girl Scout cookies that sent me over the cliff.
So over the cliff that I wasn’t sure I’d be sufficiently recovered to
police Pizza Tuesday tomorrow but yesterday, though still queasy, stomach pains
had subsided a bit, I was off the couch, back to indoor biking, and this
morning’s breakfast stayed down, so I think I’m over the worst of it.
Hopefully I’ve
learned my lesson … no more products with a wheat ingredient!
We’re having some big deal inspection tomorrow, so I’m still not
sure I’ll be needed for Pizza Tuesday, even though Activity Director called to
verify if I would do it.
There’s still a bit of disconnect between what the office puts
out in the Monthly Calendar and what the Activity Director puts on her
calendar, so it may be a situation of her not knowing about the inspection.
I tell you one thing though – it’s beginning to urk me that Activity Director has yet to follow through on a notice to residents as to why
the sign-in sheet. It’s the principal of my keeping my commitment to her, she
not keeping hers to me.
If I’ve not seen anything by next Tuesday, I’ll be telling her I’ll
finish out the month, and then she’ll have to find someone else.
On another topic -- current events actually, is a photo which popped
up on facebook this morning that will either make you laugh or angry, depending
once again on which side of the fence you stand.
Though it made me laugh. Surprisingly, as I was later thinking over
its implication of the Orange Guy's level of paranoia, I actually began feeling sorry for him. I feel sorry for anyone and everyone who doesn't understand the most basic spiritual principal -- cast the bread and in many days it will return to you. In other words, you create your own reality. It's not someone else causing your difficulties, it's not the Universe punishing you. It's whatever you cast upon the water, your own stuff coming back to you.
