On the 6th Day of Christmas

I received the medical provider’s check in the mail — the one reimbursing me for paying out-of-pocket for that covid booster because they stupidly refused to authorize the charge at the outside pharmacy, even though they themselves don’t provide Moderna.

So that’s behind me and today, when I popped into the market after this morning’s workout, I saw the hunt for our Hometown Elf is back on.

Before I began the hunt, I paused to take a look around, make sure she wasn’t hiding somewhere near the front entrance or hiding in decorations at the check stands.

Lo and Behold, something caught my eye and there she was.

Can you see her?

How about now?

Say hello to Sparkle

Isn’t she cute?

And what did I get for a successful hunt you ask?

On the 5th Day of Christmas

I received word that one of our bingo regulars passed away.

Faith, who was the former girlfriend of Dream Lover, had been taken away by ambulance last week.

A few days later, after being returned home after that medical emergency, a neighbor checked in on her yesterday, found her deceased in bed.

And so it begins, the time of year when the death toll around here seems to increase.

In a previous episode of Tales of the Complex (thanks Bob for that title), I’d written that it appeared Dream Lover was embarking on yet another relationship after the aforesaid Faith.

He and Her Haughtiness, renamed Boebert because she was talking during bingo, sat together at bingo, stayed seated long after play was over, seemed deep in conversation, which ended with Boebert running around looking for a pen so they could exchange telephone numbers.

Dream Lover's by then ex-girlfriend Faith was in the room seeing this.

Though they'd broken up and were supposedly just friends by then, it still had to hurt.

From what I’ve observed since, that budding new relationship was over quick fast in a hurry because, two weeks later, when Boebert showed up for bingo, Dream Lover was already seated.

Inasmuch as that’s not his usual modus operandi to arrive early, be seated, I surmised he was probably waiting for her.

He looked up, smiled when she walked through the door.

She chilled — had a cold look on her face, and though walking directly by him, she deliberately looked past/through him, and sat elsewhere.

He looked confused, and I’d occasionally catch him looking over at her, trying to make eye contact.

I’m sure she could see and feel him doing so, but kept her head down, refused to look up at him, and fled the room the minute bingo was over — I assume to escape his walking over to her.

It was brrrr all the way. The cold shoulder, which led me to two possible conclusions ……. he'd either said or done something she found offensive OR one of the residents in the know had informed Boebert of Dream Lover’s history with women here on the complex.

A history of having battered the woman who was living with him when he first moved in — which battering sent that woman fleeing to a shelter, never to return, and then getting into a relationship with Faith, that came to an end for unknown reasons — all obvious Red Flags.

At any rate, it looks like Boebert nipped it in the bud.

And so ends this episode as we wait to see who Dream Lover is going to go after next.

Maybe he’ll get desperate and rethink having rejected our Karen character, who used to send him love letters and whom he reported to the office for harassment.

On the 4th Day of Christmas

The newest member of our seriously dysfunctional family is well and now home experiencing her 8th day of life in this parenthesis of eternity, after spending the first 6-1/2 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Delivered caesarian three weeks early, she was kept in NICU because she’d gotten stuck, inhaled fluids, needed to be observed until her lungs cleared out and was taught how to eat and breathe because she was "chugging".

I’ll get to see, hold, welcome and caution Princess to not get caught up in the hype this world throws at you, in person when I drive to Long Beach Christmas Day.

Minutes old

8 Days old

And so, life goes on.

Now, about that pigment or, more appropriately, lack thereof .......

On the 3rd Day of Christmas

I completed my entry for the Ugly Sweater Contest.

As previously mentioned, I started with an old green athletic top then, knowing I already have green felt in my craft kit to work with, I picked up two $0.98 cent Christmas stockings from Walmart, to be cut up, used along with the green as decorations in and around the mirror portion I’d removed from the decor thing I won at bingo.

Then, realizing cutting fabric pieces to make a figure would take hours and hours, I pivoted to downloading an elf template, printing it onto transfer paper, ironing the image to the shirt.

What do you think?

I can already tell it’s going to be difficult photographing faces that approach to elf themselves. I’ll have to depend on someone to get behind the individual, capture the image in the mirror.

Problem with that is these old folks can’t take pictures, can’t handle a camera or use their cellphones, other than to take calls, for various reasons.

That extends to even Red Light, who told me, when I asked her to take my photos for the bingo wins, "I can’t take good pictures. My daughter told me" and the Baker has a condition where she shakes.

Fortunately, Homegirl was present, took the photos I posted yesterday. So, unless either she or Talker, who takes great photos, attend the Christmas Party, I won’t have many if any ugly elf photos for the blog.

At any rate, I like the way the project turned out so much that, if I decide to attend the Christmas Party management throws for us, I’ll be wearing it.

While out and about yesterday, I also picked up a cute coffee mug, to be used as my entry into the White Elephant Gift Exchange portion of the residents’ party.

Since I’d originally purchased two Christmas stockings (because Walmart didn't have red felt), thinking I’d use them in the ugly sweater, but only cut a little out of one stocking, I didn’t even have to wrap the White Elephant Gift. I stuck it inside the remaining stocking.

First Day of Christmas

On this, the First Day of Christmas, I saw what I took to be a new tenant preparing to move into the unit vacated by the Smoker, won two back to back bingo games, and got Meat Man’s last name, so I can research whether he’s still living here or not.

On the way to bingo, after this morning’s workout, I saw Assistant Maintenance Man showing a woman the vacant unit.

Heading back to my unit after bingo, I saw the same woman returning to the unit alone, use keys to enter, so I expect furniture to follow and hopefully some Christmas decorations on the patio to add to the festive look of the quad, as only three of us in the quad have decorated.

After a long dry spell of coming close but not winning, I won the 5th and 6th bingo games.

First win, from the prize table I chose a wall décor thingie with a little plastic mirror in the center.

Not my aesthetics, but just what I need to make an Ugly Sweater for the residents’ December 15th Christmas Party’s Ugly Sweater Contest.

The plan is to attach the mirror, maybe the entire thing because it's lightweight, to the middle of an old green shirt, decorate on or around it.

What’s ugly will be revealed when folks look into the mirror see their own reflection.

Based on how few got it when I dressed as Wednesday Addams for the Halloween Costume Contest, I doubt few will grasp the concept, but oh well.

Second win, I choose a cute little coffee cup shaped clock.

Shades of Flavor Flav, the rapper/hype man, that wears big clocks on chains around his neck, and whose catchphrase is "Yeah Boyyyy".

On the way back to my unit, it occurred to me that the Call Box, which allows visitors to make contact with residents by name and Unit No., so they can be let into the gate, might be a source of Meat Man’s last name.

It was, except the fact that his name is still in the Call Box leads me to believe he is still the occupant of the unit associated with his name.

On the other hand, the unit could very well be vacant and the office has not yet removed his name and will not update the Call Box until a new name is associated with that unit.

I’ll have to check back periodically.

Lastly, that same morning I posted a time will tell update on my old buddy Apache, a resident who evidently is still friends with Apache approached, as I was detouring to pick up mail on the way back from that morning’s workout, and said "I just talked to ___. He told me to say hello".

Let’s call this resident "Elvis", because he does a good dance impersonation.

"OMG! I was just thinking about ____. How is he doing?" asked I.

"Not good" was his answer.

My mind immediately went to that ugly rumor about Apache "using ……… tracks on his arm", but it wasn’t that.

Some time ago, while still living here, Apache had an operation on one of his eyes. I don’t recall why the operation, but all this time later the eye is now not doing well.

Asking if Apache is being cared for, I’m told he has a caregiver, but the caregiver is ill, Apache is "all alone".

I was thisclose to letting sympathetic take over, giving the resident my telephone number to give to Apache, but wisely didn’t, even though Apache had asked for my number the few times I’d run into him after he was evicted from the property.

Back when Apache did have my number, he lost or misplaced or let someone use his phone, on more than one occasion, which resulted in problems for those of us on his contacts list. So thereafter, when Apache asked for my number, I hemmed and hawed my way out of it.

I’ve also learned my lesson about getting involved, helping others, only to find myself used, disrespected, stuck with responsibilities so, though sorry to hear Apache was alone and not doing well, I told Elvis to "Tell him I’ll pray for him".

Apache has three sisters with whom he’s close, and at least one nephew I know he’s close to.

"Alone", I don’t think so. He’s got a better support system than I do.

Time Will Tell

It’s been a quiet reflective meditative few days as I went about my day to day activities while listening to myself think and watching world news as hostages are released, Rosalynn Carter was laid to rest, Oscar Pistorius — also known as poor little tink tink, for obvious reasons, was set to be released after serving 8-1/2 years of a 13 year sentence for the unaliving of his girlfriend, and Derek Chauvin — the cop convicted in unaliving George Floyd, was shanked in a Federal prison.

Pardon my not giving a damn, but the irony of Chauvin being transferred to a Federal prison, because it was felt he was unsafe in a State prison, is not lost on many, myself included — "Can he breathe" being the most used phrase in the comment sections.

I myself am suspicious.

Is this a setup, a play to get compassionate release or released because prison is not safe for him?

Insofar as I know, prison is not safe for anyone, so don't do the crime if you don't feel you'll be safe doing the time.

Time will tell how this plays out for Chauvin.

Insofar as I know, nothing interesting happening on the complex, as I watched Christmas patio decorations go up — first Red Light then the couple that moved into the unit vacated by the Black Witch when she moved to her daughter’s place in Palm Springs.

I can’t believe no one has yet to move into the unit in my quad — the one that became vacant after The Smoker was evicted.

As I watched Casino Lady move out this week (her sister roommate passed away last year, she doesn’t want another roommate so is moving to San Jose to be closer to other family members), I began to wonder if the County’s approval of the $500 increase is the holdup on new tenants coming in, as I know for a fact we do have a waiting list or is it that the rent has gotten so high that it’s not worth it for seniors, on or off the county. That rent at this complex is now not viewed as low enough and those with options choose to stay put, move in with family, et. al.

Time will tell as the new increase goes into effect January 1st. If no one moves in by then, and others begin moving out, I'll know it's a NO from the county.

Community Manager wanting to remove laundry rooms from the complex turned out to be just venting, an empty threat.

Too lazy to walk across the grassy knoll to check the laundry room on that side of the complex, I can still tell it’s open, back in use, because I’ve seen residents go in and out with their laundry.

As for the closure, a resident who’d taken Community Manager at her word, did not know about Section 35 — that it was the Manager’s responsibility, did contact the provider and was told it was closed due to "Being under investigation".

Evidently, the machines being damaged was an act of vandalism.

Since the reopening, I have noticed a change in lighting of that area — bright lights so that one can see in the room and around that area late at night.

I don’t know if it’s my overactive imagination or spidey sense but, I’m wondering if Meat Man, formerly Handsome Man, has something to do with the vandalism … not him per se, but perhaps his troubled son came back.

Furthering that suspicion is the fact that I’ve not seen hide nor hair of Meat Man in ages.

Is he even still living here?

The Dish device on his patio is gone and the last time I saw him I sensed something was wrong.

After that last encounter, I’d mentioned to Homegirl that he’d felt strange, the conversation awkward and that he’d looked shitfaced — embarrassed, waiting for me to say something thinking I knew something I didn’t know.

He was lucky not to have been evicted the first time it was discovered his son was living with him — discovered because his son was arrested for sex assaulting Di, with whom he was having a relationship. She didn't have the capacity to know better, but when she did get the capacity, locked her door, he broke it down, did not take NO for an answer, got arrested.

So, with cameras everywhere on the property, did the "under investigation" lead to Meat Man's door and he was forced to move and looking shitfaced was because he thought I knew?

I don’t dare ask the other guys about him. Instead of seeing me as being enormously nosey, which I am, they are a sorry bunch of losers that would be quick to spread something is going on between Meat Man and I or that I care what happens to him.

So, this too is relegated to the time will tell pile. I’ll either see Meat Man around after months and months and months of no sightings or I won’t. He'll just have disappeared into oblivion without my ever knowing the why of it.

There's also no word on whether my old buddy Apache has gone off the deep end.

The Baker is no longer close to him and Di, the one who is close to him, is not someone to give a straight answer, hasn't been able to since an auto accident left her brain damaged.

The answer will have to wait until I run into Apache myself.