Prompt Service with a Smile

Yesterday, I informed the office my oven was being temperamental.  Most of my cooking is done in the oven – baking, roasting and the oven temperature had begun dropping in the middle of roasting/baking.

I couldn’t believe it when Head Maintenance Guy (HMG) responded to my maintenance request not in two days, not in two weeks, but in two hours – and with no signs of an attitude.

I almost thought it wasn’t he – that some being had taken over his body, but then, while inspecting the oven he asked me, “Do you have an oven temperature gauge?”

There he is thought I.

A typical HMG question to ask of a resident, as if I’m a tool gal and have gauges lying around.

“I don’t even know what that is”, was my reply.

At any rate, he had the oven repaired in 20 minutes, indicating it was the “thermostat”, showing me some sort of wire thingie that had a burnt-out section.

After he’d left, I sat for a minute to ponder why he’d been so prompt and so pleasant.

Best as I can figure, since we’ve eliminated his body being taken over by a discarnate entity, that he was flattered.

HMG currently has two assistants. Don’t know if they are temporary workers or tryouts for permanent, but both are even younger than HMG.

I don’t know anything about them, don’t know if they’ve been bonded and management is responsible if they turn out to not be trustworthy so, to be on the safe side, when the office asked if it was okay for maintenance to enter my unit if I wasn’t home, I said, “Yes, but only A____ (HMG)”.

That didn’t mean I was personally requesting him -- flattering him, only that, though he’s earned a reputation of being slow and lazy, I know him, his wife, his children, he’s bonded by the corporation, so I’m comfortable with his going in and out of my unit when I’m away.

However, it would be just like him to misconstrue “Only A____” and be flattered.

No matter, the oven is fixed.

Wish I could say the same for the laptop.

Not only am I still living with the blue permission screen, but Windows Updates have overridden the virus protect I purchased and installed something called Windows Defender, and there’s now a disconnect between the system and the keyboard causing my backspace key  to no longer work.

So today I’m off, in the rain, to turn the laptop into the Geek Squad.

Wish I could turn her in altogether as a down payment on a MAC, because I am so done with Windows.

Skinny Toes and the Dead Guy

While bent over rummaging through the needlepoint kit yesterday, my eyes landed on an item on the floor.

It was my toe ring!

How’d that slip off, thought I.

Slipping it back on, I noticed it no longer had a snug fit and was likely to slip off yet again.

Either the toe ring is getting bigger or my toe is getting skinny, thought I.

Heading down to the scale in the Community Room to see what was up, I was surprised but pleased to learn I’m down an additional 6 pounds for a total of 27.

Residents had been commenting “You’ve lost a lot of weight”.

I didn’t see it because I’m still top heavy and thick around the waist. I did, however, notice how much thinner my face is and now, with toe rings slipping off, evidently my toes are getting skinny. Hopefully the areas between my face and toes will be next to whittle down. 

While downstairs, I ran into Handsome Guy. He was not happy.

The Government Inspector had a problem with Handsome Guy's Dish equipment being attached to his patio rail. Consequently, management issued Handsome Guy a 3-Day Violation Notice.

Handsome Guy is proud, much like Assistant Maintenance Guy was, and is much offended at a 3-Day Notice, saying “Management knew I had Dish when I moved in” and “Nothing has ever been said about it being mounted to the rail”.

Thing is … it’s in the lease agreement that we are not to attach anything to the rails, that Dish is to be on a tripod thingie and, further, insurance is required if one has a Dish.

I’m sure all this was explained to Handsome Guy in detail during the lease signing because management painstakingly goes through the lease page-by-page and has us initial each and every specific rule/regulation as proof we’ve been advised and understand.

But he’s a guy. I doubt he paid attention to what was being explained, just signed and initialed as directed.

I’ve not yet heard how Handsome Guy is going to resolve the issue – his options are to obtain insurance and relocate the Dish equipment to a tripod within 3-Days, get rid of Dish and go to regular Cable -- that doesn't  require insurance, or throw a hissy fit like Assistant Maintenance Guy and leave.

We’ll see.

Also, while downstairs, I ran into Apache who introduced me to his deceased neighbor’s brother – here to clear out his brother’s unit.

It was said that the Dead Guy lived here 20 years.

Twenty years and I don’t ever remember seeing him, though he wasn’t always a double amputee (both legs) and when he became an amputee still managed to get out and about by use of a mobilized chair.

His missing caretaker is still missing. The brother hasn’t been able to contact and question her, the previous caretaker has gotten involved and she too has been unable to contact and question her replacement.

Very suspicious that.

Also suspicious is the brother being told he can remove nothing from the unit because it has already been rented.

Brother was cool about it, he doesn’t want anything and said management would be giving him some monies, but I don’t get how management gets to keep all the furnishings – including a big screen TV Apache had asked the brother if he could have; the brother said yes, but management said no, it stays with the unit, that the woman moving in literally has nothing, and can use everything that’s in it.

I’m guessing that means it’s another person sent over by the County which, since brother doesn’t care, at least the furnishings are going to where it’s desperately needed.

I hope management at least cleans the place, paints, puts in new carpet, but who knows.

It all makes me wonder about what happens to my furnishings when I die. I wouldn’t mind if what I left behind when to where it was needed, but I’d like relatives to have the option to come in, take what they can use, sell what’s worth something and, if there’s anything left over, management can have at it.

I’m going to approach the subject when my lease comes up for renewal and may even have a paralegal develop some sort of stipulation to attach to the lease to prevent management from doing to my cold dead body what they’re doing to Apache’s dead neighbor.

Junk in the Trunk

After returning from picking up items at the Amazon Locker on Wednesday, I received a call asking if I wanted biscuits and gravy, cooked by The Baker, from the in-progress Community Breakfast.

“I would LOVE biscuits and gravy, but I don’t dare” said I (because my gut wouldn’t like it).

Asking how the breakfast went, it was “Few showed up, but it was peaceful”.

Translation: None of the negative energy people were in attendance.

Good to know, but I remain being Emmet, with me not in it.

My time is being devoted to completing that needlepoint project.

Progress May 2017 - March 2018

Getting towards the tail end, I’ve already decided on the next project.

In between catching up on television programs and needlepoint, I've been researching trunk organizers.

One of the items picked up from the Amazon Locker on Wednesday was one such organizer because, the new car, with all of its bells and whistles, has left me with no built-in cargo bin, such as was in the Saturn, so I'm dealing with a lot of loose junk in the trunk – pair of athletic shoes just in case I’m ever stranded and need to do a lot of walking, a just-in-case umbrella, car cleaning products, the many bags I now have to lug around since the 2016 Bag Law (Stater Bros, Ralphs, Trader Joe, Sprouts, Walmart), not to mention a place to put my groceries so they don't roll around.

With the organizer picked up on Wednesday, it’s better, but not good enough. Plus, I still need something to hold groceries in place.

I’ll keep it, but I’m still researching options.

Elsewhere around here, the two-day inspection is over and done with. I only saw one inspector -- a big beefy well-fed looking guy, just what you’d expect a government inspector to look like. He was in no shape to go up and down stairs, checking all 178 units. Nor was Community Manager, herself seriously overweight with resultant health issues, in good enough shape to escort him to all 178 units. In fact, I observed them both sitting on the bench across from my bedroom window, taking a breather.

Instead, units were inspected at random. I couldn’t tell if “random” consisted of one or two units in each building, or random units on the complex. I know The Seer’s and next-door neighbor’s units were inspected. I was passed on and I don’t think either of the two downstairs units in my building were inspected, nor did I see any of the units in the quad across from mine being inspected.

Will be interesting to learn at the next Residents/Management meeting (the 15th) if the complex passed.

With only one out-of-shape inspector, I’m assuming it did.

Waste of Time, Energy, Money, Part 2

I’m already over my disappointment that yesterday’s St Patrick’s Day Potluck consisted of hot dogs, and though I maintain the position it was a waste of my time and energy, it turned out not to be a waste of money. I received word last night that the ice cream got eaten, ALL two gallons.

Yet and still, though they did try to accommodate people with issues like mine with turkey dogs and a deli veggie tray (which I didn’t see until I was on the way out), I’m done contributing to potlucks.

And would you believe today is another pig out day for the seniors – this month’s Community Breakfast.

If they want photos for posting to the Facebook page, someone will have to take them themselves and send to me for posting, because I’m opting to keep to myself until everyone works out their differences with each other.

What’s going on is juvenile, silly and I don’t understand the how of it or the why of it, especially since those not getting along are all church people. They never miss a Sunday, go to bible studies during the week, walk around talking the talk with “Praise Jesus” … “I’m blessed”, etc., but then don’t walk the walk. And that’s what’s really sad about it -- they don’t seem to realize they’re not walking the walk.

It reminds me of what I observed as a child, that my mom was a so-called deeply religious person, an usher in the church even and, as soon as we’d get home from church, I’d hear her on the telephone being critical of what this one wore, what that one did, what was said, what was heard – just a lot of malicious gossiping.

It’s where I learned the meaning of the word “hypocrite” and it left a bad taste in my mouth insofar as conventional religion.

Not helping that bad taste is that some of the worst behavior I’ve had to tolerate in dealing with people in life has been that of so-called religious people.

One of the ladies here recently invited me to church (oh, and by the way, they all go to the same church). My reply was, “I don’t do church. I’m a contemplative. I not a Buddhist, but I meditate”.

I’m not knocking church. Though I’m an awake individual, church having nothing for me at this stage, and notwithstanding so many come out of church talking the talk but not walking the walk, church has its purpose.

At any rate, folks have been commenting about not seeing much of me lately, asking me, when they do see me, “What’s going on … What have you been doing?”

“This and that” has been my response.

The folks will now be seeing even less of me (except, if The Baker hosts her annual Egg Coloring event, I’ll definitely go to that). Now when seen and asked, “What’s going on … What have you been doing?” my response will be, “Staying away from all the negativity”.

A chant we used to say in high school just came to mind, “My name is Emmet and I ain’t in it”.

On tap for today is driving a few cities over to pick up orders at an Amazon Locker.

The super bowl of inspections is tomorrow and Friday. I’ll have to get up early, make sure I’ve my makeup on and dressed in case my unit is on the list, as it begins at 8:00 a.m.

The next Residents/Management meeting is on the 15^th, where I suppose we’ll hear the results, maybe even get a follow-up on Apache's deceased neighbor and Assistant Maintenance Guy.

Waste of Time, Energy, Money

That waste of time, energy, money was today’s St Patrick’s Day Potluck, hosted by the Activity Director.

The day started off bad when, reading Yahoo’s recap of Sunday’s episode of the Walking Dead, Robert Kirkland -- the show’s creator, indicated he was working on how to eventually kill Rick.

WHAT?!

THEY’RE GOING TO KILL RICK?!

I can’t take that and figure I’d better opt out now.

THEN, I went down to the Community Room at 1:00, expecting to see corned beef, cabbage, baked potatoes, and found it was BBQed hot dogs, chips, mac and cheese, potato salad, sodas.

They did supply turkey dogs for people like me with sensitive stomachs, but my gut is extra special sensitive and will only endure uncured meat, so I went without.

Except for one 95-year old who complained to me, upon seeing hot dogs for St. Patrick’s Day, that she was sick and tired of how cheap current management is, got up and walked out, the seniors who attended didn’t seem to mind and enjoyed themselves, which isn’t saying much because the occasion isn’t as important to them as is an opportunity to pig out. And pig out they did as there was plenty of everything, plus there was also Pizza Tuesday earlier that morning.

I did go down earlier for that and almost lost my cookies when I observed a new resident I’d met and welcomed to the community just this Sunday, pick out one of those hard-cold frozen pizzas then, instead of nuking in the microwave, to soften and refresh, pull out a slice and eat it as was.

Once the potluck began, Activity Director and Community Manager did the plating of hot dogs and sides for residents, residents then had their choice of toppings, including sauerkraut and, once seniors had been served, the two made plates for themselves, announced “There’s a lot extra so help yourself to seconds” and went to their offices to eat.

I didn’t know if they were to come back later, announce ice cream sodas for desert or not, figured no one would be there if and when they did return so, feeling uncomfortable, I took a few photos and eased on out because there was so much bad energy in the atmosphere that I felt like I didn’t belong.

The bad energy began with the 95-year-old who unloaded her displeasure on me, then there was the shock and awe going around the room upon hearing from Church Lady that Assistant Maintenance Guy was no longer an employee, everyone saying what a wonderful man he was, so respectful, such a hard worker and Church Lady saying “There’s more to this. Something’s going on. I smell a rat. A big one”.

I interjected that, in all fairness, he was failing at the end, walking off the job, not responding to on-call emergencies and, in the last analysis, everything happens for a reason, but no one wanted to hear that.

Then there was learning of the suspicious death of Apache’s neighbor – a double amputee (both legs) who was found in his unit with bruises on his chest quite some time after having passed away.

It was said Assistant Maintenance Guy and one of the temporary workers had entered his unit at least a week ago, saw him sleeping peacefully, didn’t realize he was dead, did what inspection they were there to do and left.

Once his death was discovered, and I’m not clear on how it was discovered, Apache was interviewed by the police and reported having heard others in the unit after the resident was reported to have died, that the guy had a new caretaker, and the caretaker had not been reporting for duty. Consequently, with the bruising, the absent caretaker, voices Apache heard, the police are looking at it as a suspicious death.

Since I was told the guy had been dead for at least a week, maybe two, my first thought was the smell, but Apache said, when maintenance went in, they evidently didn’t notice a smell and that he himself didn’t notice it until the police arrived and opened the door.

The Guy has no family, no friends, he died alone under suspicious circumstances, I found the whole thing depressing.

Then there’s the new guy in the complex. He’s not terribly attractive, but very friendly and has met all the guys and a lot of the gals.

I was the first to meet him when I was getting out of the car Sunday, returning from the Locktician. He and his helper were unloading furniture, heading towards the quad to the right of mine, stopped, stared at me. Their staring felt awkward so, to break it, I said, “Working hard?”

“Yes. Moving in. Me (pointing to himself)”.

“Well welcome”, said I.

He was in attendance at the potluck and had come earlier to Pizza Tuesday, but was run out by the other bully – let’s call her Loosie Goosie.

Loosie Goosie has run people out of the Community Room many times with her loud argumentative mouth and negative energy, but that wasn’t what ran the new guy out. It was the fact that she likes men. She was Creepy Guy’s girlfriend and, when he went to a facility, she approached Apache and asked, “Do you need a girlfriend?”

Apache declined, but there have been those who did not decline, thus the nickname Loosie Goosie.

At any rate, Loosie Goosie saw new guy walk in and was all over him like white on rice to the point where he asked The Woman Who Wears Braids, “Can you help me?”

She suggested he leave and go back to his unit.

He did.

However, he returned for the potluck and, when I left, he and Loosie Goosie were seated at an outside table, just the two of them, and he didn’t look like he was in distress. So maybe she sensed she was coming on too strong and is trying a kinder softer approach.

There was also the drama in the Community Room of so many not getting along – not that there’s open warfare, but there’s a lot of this one talking about that one, that one talking about this one, some not coming to the event because so and so was in attendance, The Seer in the middle of it all – at odds with Church Lady, at odds with the two bullies, at odds with President of the Resident’s Volunteer Activity Committee, the Nail Salon Lady taking sides with President of the RVAC. Made for a lot of tension in the atmosphere and being a sensitive, I saw the eye rolls, the back stabbing, heard the whispering, felt the negative energy and was anxious to escape to the sanctuary of my little unit.

It’ll be a long time before any of them see me again and, if I do go down to take photos for the Facebook page if and when there’s another potluck, I won’t bother with contributing anything.

Pride Goes Before a Fall

St Patrick’s Day isn’t until the 17^th. However, the potluck celebration is tomorrow, over a week early.

Probably something to do with Activity Director’s schedule.

At any rate, it crossed my mind yesterday that a Starbuck’s Traveler wouldn’t be the best choice for my contribution. Much as the seniors do love and see Starbucks coffee as a special treat, it’s more appropriate for breakfast and brunch. So, coffee out, it then became a toss-up between deviled eggs dyed green or lime ice cream and soda for a knockoff shamrock shake.

Having not been sleeping well last few days -- waking at 1:30 for no reason insofar as I can tell, getting out of bed, playing candy crush, alphabetty saga, reading blogs, meditating until I feel sleepy again, go back to bed, get up a few hours later, I've been waking up tired and don’t have the energy for deviled eggs, so off I went to the market for 7-Up, lime ice cream and, for variety, mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Back at the complex, after unloading groceries, I walked through the Community Room, heading to the mailbox, and learned Assistant Maintenance Guy had resigned.

How stupid is that, thought I.

He was well liked, respected, and his work ethics were acknowledged and appreciated by us residents until, in his war with Head Maintenance Guy, he put the brakes on those work ethics.

It was said he’d resigned because Corporate was trying to fire him, but still … how stupid is that.

Putting aside he’s been giving Corporate just cause to fire him, if he’d let it play out, he could at least have been able to claim unemployment. As it is, he has a new home and a new truck to maintain, no income insofar as we know and how many opportunities are out there for a 54-year old fix it guy?

It’s all ego and pride.

Ego that he’s older, more experienced, yet has to take orders from a lazy kid.

Pride that he couldn’t knuckle down, accept what is and do what he had to do to keep his job.

It’s so stupid, so sad and, once reality sets in, I wouldn’t be at all surprise if he didn’t end up asking for his job back.