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Just Because...
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Case of the Toasty Marshmallow...

Picture this - we've been driving since 10 a.m. the day prior; it's 6 a.m. on Saturday and I finally arrive at the new abode. Come into the house, the dog promptly christens the new hallway, I lose my mind for a second, then it's off to crash for a few hours.

Once I woke up, it was time to unload the UHaul from hell. However, one [un]pleasant surprise when I awoke - it was CHILLY! And by chilly I mean just straight up cold. Wiggy, we're not in Florida anymore. So, this gal remembers that her new landlord turned on the AC to get the apartment ready. I decide that the only smart thing to do is turn on the heat and warm up the place.

Well, a couple hours into the heat working, I smelled the faint whiff of something burning. I didn't think much of it until it came along again, off and on as I would go in and out of the house, reminding me of the smell of smores on a campfire. I thought, perhaps, it was just the heating system getting some use after being dormant for a while. Maybe it was a crisp new filter in the vent getting broken in. Or, as my over active imagination was racing with the idea that perhaps the wiring was sparking and me, by turning on the heat in the new apartment, I could have started a fire in the vents and now the apartment would burn down.

The toasty marshmallow smell was quite strong in my bedroom by the vent which was next to the window. I finally panicked and called my new landlord K. and told him my fears. Turns out they were leaving early and maintenance had already left for the day. However, K. paged the maintenance supervisor and then the game of phone tag began. See, I have a plethora of radio towers outside my apartment and I wasn't hearing ONE phone call and things were just driving me nuts. The smell kept getting stronger and now my mind went into overdrive. Finally, upon connecting with John from Maintenance, we discussed the situation as I started to wander the apartment to see where the smell was originating from. I had already turned the heat off prior so now the fact that the smell was VERY strong, the panic was starting to surface. The smell was strong in my bedroom and as I went to the back porch to discuss it quietly with John, I noticed the smell was very strong out on the back porch - where there was no vents. Confused, I looked around and then I spotted it - my neighbors in the building next door were using a charcoal grill with some foil packages on it - most likely containing something with marshmallows.

I laughed and told John that the case was solved. You can imagine my shock when he said "Oh - neighbor XYZ. They aren't supposed to have that type of grill - we'll send out a letter on Monday".

Yeah, that's how this gal started off her new life in her new apartment inadvertently ratting out her new neighbor (who has since moved out due to other issues).

I just will never look at smores the same way again...

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Posted by Lys :: 11:05 PM :: 3 comments

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Monday, May 18, 2009

Updates From Golf School Dorm Central And Why I Will Punch Someone In The Nose...

Over the weekend, there was a bit of an incident at the apartment complex which shall now be forever deemed as Golf School Dorm Central. There are so many golf students in our building that my neighbors and I have been losing our mind. The constant parties. The drunk screaming up and down the halls. The manly "bitch fights" outside at night. The scattered fast food littered in the hallways that brings the bugs. The multiple garbage bags of beer cans everywhere. This isn't even counting the spagetti and toilet paper in the bushes or the cat calls from each other's balconies. Seriously, it's enough to drive someone crazy.

We have a courtesy officer on premises and, while I do call him and have his number on speed dial, I still don't want to be the crazy old lady with the cardigan on the porch pounding my cane screaming "YOU G.D. WHIPPERSNAPPERS". I am trying to be nice (tho I wish Wiggy would lift his leg on a couple of them). Saturday night there was a scuffle about 3:00 in the morning. I won't call the courtesy officer past 1 am and figured it was more of their drunk shenanigans. See, the idiots in 312 are also "golf students" or, to quote someone in mgmt., someone who doesn't have to worry since mommy and daddy are footing the bill. One of them got drunk once and decided that since I took a parking space he wanted, then he had the right to call me the "C" word. My response was to berate him when he was sober. He's been respectful towards me ever since. Anywhoo - I digress. The point is - at 3ish, I heard the drunken b.s. coming from the direction of his apartment and the elevators. Eeehhh - Orlando's in the playoffs so I figured that it is what it is. That was until I heard *BAM* and it sounded like someone punched something pretty damn hard. Then more drunken b.s. Eeehh - whatever. I rolled over and went to sleep. I kept hearing bells in my sleep like the elevator opening and closing but figured that I was hearing things.

Crazy early Sunday morning, Wiggs is *poke poke poke* and doing his little "Mah I Gotta PEEEEEE" dance on the bed and making a mad dash for the door, giving me 2 minutes to get dressed. When he gets like this, I know there is no opportunity to roll over and resign myself to dealing with the early wake up call. I go to walk him and, as we get to the elevator, the door is opening and shutting, acting all crazy and I see what the *BAM* from the night before was: those sons of @*@*@* BROKE THE ELEVATOR PANEL - straight out punched it open Plastic and parts were scattered. It was a hot mess.

Now remember, when Wiggs first moved in, he had an insane fear of stairs and heights. He won't even go ON the balcony and trying to get him near the stairs - forget it. My guess is someone either dropped him as a pup from a huge height or played keep away at the college where he lived with his first owner who was too young to even take care of him. You can't even pick him up without him freezing and demanding "DOWN". It took six months of coaxing trying to teach him to trust me and that he no longer needed to hug the walls as he was walking.

Knowing that we couldn't use the elevator, I had to think quick and scooped him up, put him on my shoulder and trotted down the stairs. The dog had a massive panic attack. To go back upstairs - it was the same. Three times yesterday I did that, in the rain, etc. as I tried to console him and tell him what a brave boy he was. He would fight me trying to convince me that "Momma - we use elevator" but maintenance had already shut it down. There was no elevator and I kept telling him to be a big boy and trust me. It broke my heart to see him pawing at the elevator door, hugging it so I couldn't pick him up and make him walk up those bad stairs. Utterly heartbreaking - and the sounds coming from him, it was frightening - like he was hyperventilating.

I was PRAYING that I'd run into one of those fools from 312 because, even if it wasn't them - they are liable for the actions of their guests. In ONE day, by their dumb action of punching out the elevator panel and rendering it useless resulted in the undoing of SIX MONTHS of training my dog to trust me. In ONE day, my dog is now TERRIFIED to go outside should he fall while going down the stairs. In ONE day, their stupidity has affected EVERYONE in our building - especially the person on the second floor that uses a wheelchair, the mother of toddlers that has to now carry their stroller downstairs, plus her young children. Not to mention their utter lack of respect for their neighbors and our community.

As I told the complex manager today quite frankly I will not hold my tongue when I see any of those three fools. I'm pretty upfront as you all know and, as I joked with my friends, I will make those three azzhats cry by the time I'm through AND recommend that they move when the lease is out. If they don't like it, tough. I'll just whap them with my cane.

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Posted by Lys :: 6:15 PM :: 7 comments

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Friday, March 27, 2009

Officer, I've Been Robbed!

Stories from Dorm Central:

Every Thursday, I have organic fruits and veggie delivered from Orlando Organics. I adore this service and I'm really pleased. I find myself looking forward to seeing what I get and making it like a challenge to use items I wouldn't normally pick up. It's up to me to leave a cooler outside my door on Thursday mornings for them to leave the goodies in. I've been really good about this for a while now.

On Thursday mornings, I get up, take the pug out for his walk and then clean out the cooler as I fill it with ice packs and leave for work. Simple - no problem with that routine.

This week, I get home and notice that in place of the cooler is an insulated bag from Orlando Organics but no cooler. What. The. HELL!?!?!

Now I left that cooler out about 8:30/8:45. They come around 11 - so that tells me that in that span of TWO hours, someone thieved the cooler. You could tell it wasn't out for trash as the ice packs were laid out nicely and there was paper towels lining it over the ice packs. Any IDIOT could tell that - trash only comes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This is THURSDAY.

SO, by my powers of deduction it leaves only one alternative - one of the dorm residents decided that they needed a cooler for beer for the multiple parties that have been going on around these parts - and my money's on the idiots who vandalized the elevator, raise hell on the floor and, of course, haven't learned what life really is about.

And boy did those punks hear my thoughts as I was discussing the issue on the phone. These kids aren't paying their own rent - their parents are as confirmed by the office. These kids go to GOLF SCHOOL for cryin' out loud - GOLF SCHOOL. And I'm guessing that 90% of those idiots won't even go pro - but sure Mom & Dad - send these boys to Florida with a nice car so they can learn how to be a professional golfer like Tiger Woods. And I might have said that should they get out of line, I'm whippin' out my cane and cardigan to call the Altamonte PD as the Courtesy Officer hasn't really been able to do much and the problem is getting worse. However, should the Altamonte PD have public calls about the drama over here, well then - the complex won't like that.

For two nights we've had peace and quiet - they keep trying to say hi to me and pet my dog (I am praying that Wiggs lets his leg fly on one of them) but they have gotten the mean mug and aren't worth my time to acknowledge.

However, should they care to return the cooler - well then, I'll be back to pleasant neighbor status.

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Posted by Lys :: 10:40 PM :: 5 comments

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Sunday, June 22, 2008

Lots to Do... Little Time To Do It In...

Needless to say, work's been kickin' my butt into overdrive. Sadly, my personal life has taken a backseat to the madness. So, this week I need to zap my happy behind into gear and here's my checklist to start the week:

  • Finally pick up my dry cleaning. It's been 2 weeks and I think they are going to string me up by the stilettos. I also need to drop off a few suits and a comforter that needs cleaning. Last time I tried to do it myself, I ripped it in the washer.
  • Return a dress that makes me feel like June flippin' Cleaver. To quote Meowmix "Return it!". Do I love the dress - no. It's cute but seriously, how many black and white dresses does a girl need. Plus - that money can be used to pay down bills.
  • Return a few things that have been waiting for 3 weeks for me to bring back, i.e. impulse buys which include a new cutting board (don't need it), a book that regurgitates the same mess on debt reduction (don't need it - I can just get the same info from my blogs, etc.), some makeup which I DON'T need. (well I'm too weak to open the jar and I don't need yet another brown eyeshadow) and, maybe, those sandals that I recently bought (money would be better in my bank account as I wait for them to go on sale.)
  • Work on the closet and figure out what needs to be put on eBay and start on Declutter Project 2008. I need to start rifling through all the stuff I have and evaluate if I REALLY need some of this stuff around here. I'm not always going to have an apartment that's 932 sq. feet. I need to pare down.
  • I also need to hang up clothing galore and get back into the whole "You have so many hangers - no buying NEW hangers - reduce what you have" theory. That includes stuff that doesn't fit and needs to be tossed, donated or sold. No mercy, my friends - no mercy.
  • Same for Jewelry - that whole jewelry box needs to be re-evaluated. I have a rule of one statement piece balanced with one minimal piece. Those that don't work - out out out!
  • Mail out packages that I've been meaning to send. I FINALLY returned the SW pumps from 2.5 months ago and I've had ShoeAddict's package on my desk that NEEDS to go out Monday before she strings me up by my stilettos.
  • Start cooking at home more. I actually cooked tonight and I forgot how relaxing it can be. Perhaps tomorrow I'll cook again.
  • Go to Costco to pick up some various necessities like Gas, Dishwasher Detergent, Laundry Detergent and some cheese. Sometimes it's better to pay a bit more when you are getting a better deal and there is no way in HELL I'm paying any more than possible for gas. Costco gas it is.
  • Toss out the boxes that I've kept "just in case" for "moves, etc." Listen, I don't really need to worry about keeping the original Cuisinart food processor box or boxes from my Nigella pots, etc. I'll package them mover style when I'm ready to move on out. Now they are taking up valuable space.
  • Clean out the car - something that is desperately needed.
  • Actually bring UP the new suitcase I bought 3 weeks ago and get rid of a couple others that are currently in my closet from touring days.
  • Work on my Budget/Personal Finance excel workbook. I've had my head in the sand TOO long and I'd like to get this done so I can get back on the PF bandwagon. I need to work on that FICO score quickly and the more I wait and play ostrich, the more I am only hurting myself.
  • Start planning the Philly trip. We've got the car and the airline tix - just need to start the party planning, the errand planning and all the stuff that goes into actually PLANNING when I go back home.
  • Speaking of Philly - this gal needs to get back on the workout wagon. I stopped due to the chaos and no more. I need to break out the pilates and hip hop abs dvd. So what if it kicks my butt - I'll be Philly ready in no time.
I'm sure I'll add to the list, but there's too much to do and little time to do it in.

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Posted by Lys :: 1:34 AM :: 4 comments

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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Inspection - Again??

I get home tonight only to find a letter to see that the complex is having another "inspection" of our fire alarm system. Da Hell? We were supposed to have this complete at the end of May and I get a notice tonight, dated June 20, 2008 of an inspection on JUNE 20, 2008.

Where is the 48 hour courtesy notice per Florida statute? Something smells fishy and I'm going to call them on it. I had enough of this crap with LBV years ago and it looks like I'm going to have to educate the new apartment manager.

Talk about pissing me off. Now I'm gonna have to lock up the ferocious kitteh and relocate her food and box to her "suite". She might just try to kill me.

Ugh! So NOT what I needed tonight. Azzhats - that's who is running the complex office.

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Posted by Lys :: 9:36 PM :: 4 comments

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