Hi all! Yes, once again it has been nearly aeons since I last blogged but I'm back and and giving it another shot. After a little gentle nudging and some of the not so gentle variety, I've decided that I'm going to heed some very well intentioned advice and try to keep my posts shorter. I know, it will be much easier on you guys and yes, will admittedly take MUCH less time to write and therefore allow me to blog more often. So okay, good plan.
But of course that leads me to my next issue that seems to stand in my way when I think about blogging...yep, the plain truth of it is that my life really isn't all that exciting! Yes, yes, get your laughter out of the way but I'm being serious and honest here! I wouldn't say that I'm a boring person but aside from the normal day to day stuff routine of getting up, going to work, coming home and going to bed, I'm not sure that there is all that much that happens in between that would be blog worthy on a daily basis. But sure, I'll take a closer look at that too and see if I'm not just overlooking a plethora of useful material..lol.
The one thing I have noticed that I talk about a lot, both in my blog and in real life, is my beagle Jasper. And again to be honest, because that is what I'm going for here, I promised myself right from the start when we got him that I didn't want to be one of those people that needs to tell every single person they meet about the great/cute/amazing things their children/dogs do. Because really...no one else is nearly as interested/impressed as I am about it, right? So as a rule, I'm also going to try to limit my number of Jasper-related posts, even though he is cute as hell! Besides, other than my husband, he is the one I spend a good deal of time with so he is bound to pop up here and there in passing..lol.
Okay, I need to keep an eye on the length of this beast so I'll keep this one short...ish. Really, can I be expected to just go cold turkey on this short post thing?! This week has been a bit on the crazy side as Adam (my husband for those that don't know) is in sunny and *hot* Las Vegas for a week on business. And yes, before you ask, I *did* in fact just come back from my very own Vegas vacation in the middle of June but that was planned with my friend before we knew Adam would be going too. There is a New Job story involved there somewhere but I'll leave that for another day as I'm trying to keep this thing short.
So it has been a week of hanging out at home with the infamous Jasper and just taking it easy. And to be honest, it has been a pretty good week. No major issues have popped up, which is better than I could have anticipated, and I really, honestly and truly do not mind spending time by myself. Yes, I was a rather independent sort before I got married and it is nice to just get a taste of that again for a few days. Of course having said that, I'm going to be just a little more than ecstatic when he finally arrives back in town on Saturday night..;) But I can say that I had a very strange incident that happened to me tonight and it is one that disappointed me more than anything. You see, there is this older man (50+) that lives in one of the townhouses in our complex and right from the start when we got Jasper back in December, I would often run into this man when we head out for our walks. And it was good because Jasper seemed to take a liking to this man a little more every time we would see him. So as it happens, I have noticed as of late that this man was outside every time we would go for our walk, which at first I thought was friendly and I was touched that he would take time out of his schedule to say hi to us as we walked by every day. But then after a while, it just started to feel creepy and he started asking more personal questions. I always kept our conversations pretty short and made a point of mentioning Adam a lot but still..it just felt weird.
So after work today, the puppy and I headed out for our walk and of course ran into Brian. We talked for a minute about inconsequential stuff..the weather, the puppy and then he asked where we went when we went walking each day. This threw up a red flag so I just replied with a vague answer and then said we had to go. But while walking away, I hear him say "Oh, by the way.." and so I turned around. He ran up to me and said that he just wanted to know what unit number we lived in. I mean, what was I supposed to say? The man had seen me go in and out of our house quite a few times as he would be driving by or whatever and he *knew* where we lived, even if he didn't know the unit number, so I couldn't very well lie to him. I told him and then headed off for our walk feeling distinctly uncomfortable. But as if that wasn't bad enough, when Jasper and I got back from our walk an hour later, who do I find standing and waiting at the gates to our housing complex?? Yep, you guessed it...creepy Brian. I was trying to convince myself that it was a coincidence but it wasn't exactly working and he sealed the deal when he came up and started his sentence off with a "Hey, I have a favour to ask you.." You just know that the remainder of that sentence is never going to be a good thing. Anyway, to make a long story less long, he asked if I could loan him $10 as he doesn't get paid until tomorrow and his wife doesn't get paid until Wednesday. I said no and cut the conversation short but in the end, I'm just really disappointed because he seemed like a genuinely nice guy before he went creepazoid on me.
So there, that is something interesting that happened in my life. I'm not concerned with being alone here while Adam is in Vegas as our neighbours are VERY close by and I have an extremely nosy dog. But still..it is just one of those unsettling things. Oh well, you live and learn. Anyway, so this post didn't end up being short and I apologize to the blogging powers that be for that one. I promise I will try harder with the next one!
Adios!
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Thursday, July 07, 2005
A tribute to dumbasses, the world over..
Hi ya'll, back for another round..:)
So yeah, I know it has been a while since I've been in and posted but I finally felt inspired tonight so here I am. So what, you ask, has inspired me enough to jump into the fray again? Well, for one it was the not-so-gentle nudge from a co-worker that shall remain nameless asking me this afternoon why it has been so long since I've updated my blog. And two, I'm just in the mood to rant tonight and as my husband is conveniently sleeping, this seemed like a pretty good place to do it!
My beef is this: why does it seem to be lately that the world is inhabited by a larger-than-ever proportion of dumbasses??
Come on now..you know what I mean. I'm not sure why but lately they have just seemed to be crawling out of the woodwork, hellbent on annoying the CRAP outta me and intent on making their presence known. And not only is it bad enough that they even exist, but then they have to go out of their way to make it crystal clear to me as to why they could be considered nothing but a dumbass to begin with.
Case in point:
We live in a lovely little townhouse complex that I can honestly say I really, really enjoy inhabiting. For the most part, and by that I mean in 99% of the cases, I really like the people that own the other units surrounding us and I can say without a doubt that our immediate neighbours on both sides of us are really great. The townhouse that we live in is part of a row of four, with ours being the 2nd one in from the left side. And by way of explanation, our townhouses are different in that we don't have garages but instead have a small grassy area out front and then parking spaces in front of our individual units.
So, having said this about those around us and our immediate neighbours in particular, there is always a bad seed in the bunch. Unfortunately, this bad seed just happens to be the people that reside in the end unit of the row of four townhouses in which we live. So yes, that would make them the ones living in the townhouse two down from us.
Now before I go on, let me point out that the people living in that townhouse...let's call it the "End Unit From Hell" or EUFH, are only renting it and as such, had no real tie to the community, as it were. And as snobby as it may make me sound, I really believe that it makes a difference. Those of us that own our places, for the most part, intend to be there for a while and as such, try to make the best effort possible to be on good terms with those that live around us. The couple that lives in the EUFH have never made this effort.
They moved in at the beginning of the summer last year and the friendliest thing that could be said about them is that they had an uber-cute little boy that was more than willing to talk away any time that we would see him. But for a full year now, we have never even had so much as a hello from the boy's parents even though we see them ALL the time. But okay...I understand that not everyone is of the friendly, sociable types so I can let that pass.
But a couple weeks ago now, I was on my way out the door and to my car when I ran into my right-side next door neighbour, Darlene. Now Darlene is a wonderful lady, about 50 years old with a 20 year-old son that lives in her basement. And Darlene and I hit it off right from the very first day when we moved in. She was also more than understanding about our dog-ownership struggles from this past winter, which I love her for, so when I can get a few minutes to chat to her, I take it. So upon seeing me, we exchange greetings for a minute or two and then she suddenly turns all serious and leans in toward me.
"Did you hear those two fighting the other day?" she whispers, nodding toward the EUFH and raising her eyebrows dramatically. Now this is one other thing that I can say about the townhouses we live in. They may not have been the best in construction but they certainly ARE rather soundproof. So, having heard nothing, I tell this to Darlene. She goes on to tell me how the inhabitants of the EUFH started fighting one night at about 1 a.m. and it lasted all night. Finally at 6 a.m., Darlene had to go over, knock on their door and tell them to cool it. And wow...was I flabbergasted! This sort of thing just doesn't happen in our complex and I can't honestly believe that I didn't hear a thing! But Darlene told me that she would keep me posted with any further developments.
And so a week and a bit pass and one Sunday morning, I get up semi-early to take Jasper for his morning walk, only to walk out on the pavement to find that some dumbass has smashed a few beer bottles on the ashphalt. And not only that, but they were smashed quite effectively into billions of shards and the scene of the crime just happens to be in one of most high-traffic areas of the entire complex. And wouldn't you know it...right outside of the EUFH! So of course this mess makes it rather difficult as I discover that I am the proud owner of a beer-loving beagle and so it is a struggle to keep him from stepping in the glass and cutting his paws all to shit. But I thought that it wasn't a big deal because surely the culprit would be out to clean it up that day...you can't just leave something like that there, can you??
Apparently, you can. Because there it did stay for days. And for days I painstakingly made sure that Jasper didn't step in any of it and then grimaced every time I would have to drive through the carnage with my car. Yes folks...it had been there for almost a week by the time I saw Darlene next and she quickly informed me that it had been the gentleman from the EUFH that had smashed the beer bottles, while in the throes of an argument with the lady of the house. Now keep in mind that they have a little boy living with them.
Anyway, by the time last Friday had arrived (Canada Day), I had deduced that there was obviously about a snowball's chance in hell of this man ever cleaning up the mess. So Friday afternoon found me outside in the driveway, with my broom and dustpan, sweeping up the glassy remains of the broken beer bottles because frankly, I really didn't wish to entertain the prospect of having anyone step in it, human or canine. So I worked at this for quite a while and while I didn't get all of it, I got a lot of it and was pretty happy with myself. So, gathering up my tools of defense, I made to make my way back towards our house, looking up at the front window of the EUFH as I passed only to find the beer-bottle smasher standing there and laughing at my efforts.
Yeah, okay so that makes me a sucker. But even more than that...it makes HIM a DUMBASS!
Since then, I am happy to report that a UHaul showed up one morning not long ago and took all their stuff away. The unit is presently up for rent and while I am going to miss the little boy's shouts of "Doggy!!" every time he saw Jasper, I am crossing my fingers that the next bunch are a little more...normal and less dumbass-ish.
Case in Point #2:
I forced myself to indulge in one of my least favourite activites tonight after work. I picked up the mail from our super-mailbox thingamabob. Yeah...it is only ever bills and most of the time, bills I can't afford to pay, so that is why it is one of my least favourite things to do. But this time, it contained a lovely little envelope emblazoned with the logo of our mortgage company. Hmm..I wonder what they could want. So upon entering the air-conditioned coolness of our house, I rip open the envelope to find that it is our annual statement of property taxes paid and property taxes owed for next year.
Now being a relatively new first-time home buyer (we moved in last May), these kind of things excite me a little. I like to see how the money we have paid is actually going to something other than to pay someone else's mortgage, like our rent was. So looking closer, I can clearly see the amount of taxes that we paid for last year and below that is supposed the amount of taxes that are to be due for this coming year, starting August 1. But wait...that can't be right. If I'm reading that correctly, it says that we owe $18,536 in taxes for the coming year. Pardon ME?? Holy Crap!! That is about a billion percent increase over what we paid last year!! Seriously...it says that our taxes for the coming year are going to be approximately 10% of the property value of our home!
Honestly people...don't they have someone responsible for checking these things before they are sent out?? Clearly someone missed a decimal place somewhere...or at least that is what I am hoping. And if not, this place is going to be up for sale pretty damn quickly. But yeah, so the person at the mortgage company that is responsible for sending out the hopefully erronous property tax statement would also qualify as a DUMBASS in my book for almost giving me a heart attack.
And really, I could go on from here but this post is already too long. Lets just say that the dumbasses are rampant as of late and maybe they come out with the heat. Now there is a theory that merits some thought..:)
So yeah, I know it has been a while since I've been in and posted but I finally felt inspired tonight so here I am. So what, you ask, has inspired me enough to jump into the fray again? Well, for one it was the not-so-gentle nudge from a co-worker that shall remain nameless
My beef is this: why does it seem to be lately that the world is inhabited by a larger-than-ever proportion of dumbasses??
Come on now..you know what I mean. I'm not sure why but lately they have just seemed to be crawling out of the woodwork, hellbent on annoying the CRAP outta me and intent on making their presence known. And not only is it bad enough that they even exist, but then they have to go out of their way to make it crystal clear to me as to why they could be considered nothing but a dumbass to begin with.
Case in point:
We live in a lovely little townhouse complex that I can honestly say I really, really enjoy inhabiting. For the most part, and by that I mean in 99% of the cases, I really like the people that own the other units surrounding us and I can say without a doubt that our immediate neighbours on both sides of us are really great. The townhouse that we live in is part of a row of four, with ours being the 2nd one in from the left side. And by way of explanation, our townhouses are different in that we don't have garages but instead have a small grassy area out front and then parking spaces in front of our individual units.
So, having said this about those around us and our immediate neighbours in particular, there is always a bad seed in the bunch. Unfortunately, this bad seed just happens to be the people that reside in the end unit of the row of four townhouses in which we live. So yes, that would make them the ones living in the townhouse two down from us.
Now before I go on, let me point out that the people living in that townhouse...let's call it the "End Unit From Hell" or EUFH, are only renting it and as such, had no real tie to the community, as it were. And as snobby as it may make me sound, I really believe that it makes a difference. Those of us that own our places, for the most part, intend to be there for a while and as such, try to make the best effort possible to be on good terms with those that live around us. The couple that lives in the EUFH have never made this effort.
They moved in at the beginning of the summer last year and the friendliest thing that could be said about them is that they had an uber-cute little boy that was more than willing to talk away any time that we would see him. But for a full year now, we have never even had so much as a hello from the boy's parents even though we see them ALL the time. But okay...I understand that not everyone is of the friendly, sociable types so I can let that pass.
But a couple weeks ago now, I was on my way out the door and to my car when I ran into my right-side next door neighbour, Darlene. Now Darlene is a wonderful lady, about 50 years old with a 20 year-old son that lives in her basement. And Darlene and I hit it off right from the very first day when we moved in. She was also more than understanding about our dog-ownership struggles from this past winter, which I love her for, so when I can get a few minutes to chat to her, I take it. So upon seeing me, we exchange greetings for a minute or two and then she suddenly turns all serious and leans in toward me.
"Did you hear those two fighting the other day?" she whispers, nodding toward the EUFH and raising her eyebrows dramatically. Now this is one other thing that I can say about the townhouses we live in. They may not have been the best in construction but they certainly ARE rather soundproof. So, having heard nothing, I tell this to Darlene. She goes on to tell me how the inhabitants of the EUFH started fighting one night at about 1 a.m. and it lasted all night. Finally at 6 a.m., Darlene had to go over, knock on their door and tell them to cool it. And wow...was I flabbergasted! This sort of thing just doesn't happen in our complex and I can't honestly believe that I didn't hear a thing! But Darlene told me that she would keep me posted with any further developments.
And so a week and a bit pass and one Sunday morning, I get up semi-early to take Jasper for his morning walk, only to walk out on the pavement to find that some dumbass has smashed a few beer bottles on the ashphalt. And not only that, but they were smashed quite effectively into billions of shards and the scene of the crime just happens to be in one of most high-traffic areas of the entire complex. And wouldn't you know it...right outside of the EUFH! So of course this mess makes it rather difficult as I discover that I am the proud owner of a beer-loving beagle and so it is a struggle to keep him from stepping in the glass and cutting his paws all to shit. But I thought that it wasn't a big deal because surely the culprit would be out to clean it up that day...you can't just leave something like that there, can you??
Apparently, you can. Because there it did stay for days. And for days I painstakingly made sure that Jasper didn't step in any of it and then grimaced every time I would have to drive through the carnage with my car. Yes folks...it had been there for almost a week by the time I saw Darlene next and she quickly informed me that it had been the gentleman from the EUFH that had smashed the beer bottles, while in the throes of an argument with the lady of the house. Now keep in mind that they have a little boy living with them.
Anyway, by the time last Friday had arrived (Canada Day), I had deduced that there was obviously about a snowball's chance in hell of this man ever cleaning up the mess. So Friday afternoon found me outside in the driveway, with my broom and dustpan, sweeping up the glassy remains of the broken beer bottles because frankly, I really didn't wish to entertain the prospect of having anyone step in it, human or canine. So I worked at this for quite a while and while I didn't get all of it, I got a lot of it and was pretty happy with myself. So, gathering up my tools of defense, I made to make my way back towards our house, looking up at the front window of the EUFH as I passed only to find the beer-bottle smasher standing there and laughing at my efforts.
Yeah, okay so that makes me a sucker. But even more than that...it makes HIM a DUMBASS!
Since then, I am happy to report that a UHaul showed up one morning not long ago and took all their stuff away. The unit is presently up for rent and while I am going to miss the little boy's shouts of "Doggy!!" every time he saw Jasper, I am crossing my fingers that the next bunch are a little more...normal and less dumbass-ish.
Case in Point #2:
I forced myself to indulge in one of my least favourite activites tonight after work. I picked up the mail from our super-mailbox thingamabob. Yeah...it is only ever bills and most of the time, bills I can't afford to pay, so that is why it is one of my least favourite things to do. But this time, it contained a lovely little envelope emblazoned with the logo of our mortgage company. Hmm..I wonder what they could want. So upon entering the air-conditioned coolness of our house, I rip open the envelope to find that it is our annual statement of property taxes paid and property taxes owed for next year.
Now being a relatively new first-time home buyer (we moved in last May), these kind of things excite me a little. I like to see how the money we have paid is actually going to something other than to pay someone else's mortgage, like our rent was. So looking closer, I can clearly see the amount of taxes that we paid for last year and below that is supposed the amount of taxes that are to be due for this coming year, starting August 1. But wait...that can't be right. If I'm reading that correctly, it says that we owe $18,536 in taxes for the coming year. Pardon ME?? Holy Crap!! That is about a billion percent increase over what we paid last year!! Seriously...it says that our taxes for the coming year are going to be approximately 10% of the property value of our home!
Honestly people...don't they have someone responsible for checking these things before they are sent out?? Clearly someone missed a decimal place somewhere...or at least that is what I am hoping. And if not, this place is going to be up for sale pretty damn quickly. But yeah, so the person at the mortgage company that is responsible for sending out the hopefully erronous property tax statement would also qualify as a DUMBASS in my book for almost giving me a heart attack.
And really, I could go on from here but this post is already too long. Lets just say that the dumbasses are rampant as of late and maybe they come out with the heat. Now there is a theory that merits some thought..:)
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