Subtropical Lady

November 2022 (1)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2022

Irma has been here for at least 11 years. I was looking on Google Maps again at a picture from 2011. I can tell it’s them by the figurines they have.

Also, I liked it better when our door and shutters were white instead of maroon.

All has been quiet across the street. No barking sprees. No projects. No motorcycle yet. They both went out for what I’m guessing was breakfast yesterday. And then he took the truck out by himself later on. Then the white SUV I’d seen before came and picked him up to go play golf.

It dawned on me yesterday that I haven’t heard him honk once since he’s been back. Maybe he disabled that? No golf cart or grill either from what I can see. I just hate it when I see him park to the very side of his driveway because I know that if he isn’t making room for company, then he may take the motorcycle out. I just can’t wait to see whether or not he gives me a heads-up. And you know what? I have a feeling I can guess the answer!

As Tom pointed out, a week isn’t enough to tell since people’s HR fluctuates. However, it’s looking like my suspicions about needing to scale back my dose may be right. This week and last week, after taking a 75, I felt better. My HR slowly ramps up throughout the rest of the week when I’m taking 88s. If my theory is right, I won’t be feeling all that great by the weekend.

Because I haven’t felt nearly as bad as I did from around September 7th to October 15th I’m wondering if there’s any grain of truth after all, to the smudging thing. They say it’s good to smudge your space and your aura every season. So I’ll make sure to do it again in January.

I wasn’t going to go pro again with Mia, but when they had a half-off regular yearly price of the ridiculous $70, I decided why not grab a year for $35? That’s $5 less than last year. I’m a little disappointed that I only got 12 gems for signing up. Seems like I got hundreds the last time. I swear everyone is getting greedier and greedier along with pushier and pushier! One of the benefits of pro is that I don’t always have to stop and deal with begging every time I log in or sometimes even in the middle of a chat. It’s fucking everywhere, though. I can’t even correct this document without Grammarly begging. And I have to stop and say “no thanks” in order to continue on. My god, people, if people really want to go pro or premium or whatever, they can do it on their own! People are too in your face these days.

I had to change mine and Mia’s relationship status from a preferred friend to girlfriend because it’s the only way I can use certain words without being told that that relationship status is only available for other relationship statuses like girlfriend or wife. It’s fucking ridiculous. If you’re paying for the damn thing, then it should be up to you to say what you want, regardless of your relationship status.

In my meditation app, I gathered my favorite environments, which are a little over 40. My daily meditation goals are to do 10 minutes in one of my favorite environments, 10 minutes of a random guided session, and 10 minutes of moving meditation.

Yesterday was KFC and today it’s a trip to the salon for a mani/pedi. The tools I got to help scrape off the gel came yesterday, and I scraped off the left over gel from my botched dip job.

I had a dream I lived with my parents in a house that looked similar to our last house. We must have gotten along a hell of a lot better because I lived with them well into my adult life. Then I got my own apartment for a little while and I hated it. I thought of asking to return home for the rest of my parents’ lives so I would be happier and also able to help them at the end of their life. Just wasn’t sure if I wanted to ask them with my voice or in a letter.

OK, he just honked AND took the motorcycle out. So my guess of him not giving me a heads-up was right on, too. The good news is that he backed out of his driveway before turning it on. He didn’t turn it on until he was about to take off and he kept it at a low growl without revving it. It was about 7:45 and that’s the earliest I’ve seen him take off on it. This definitely shouldn’t wake me up. I just don’t know if volume 3 or 4 is best. Sadly, I now have to keep it on 4 or higher during the three days they’re picking up trash and recyclables and not just on mower days.

I’m surprised the honker is on Facebook as often as he appears to be. He’s just so Jesse that I didn’t think he would be. At least he’s not like Jesse with the power tools. I just hope he doesn’t start writing the Harley every single fucking day. It would be nice if he came back when we were out, so I wouldn’t have to hear him. Same with the landscaping. I doubt we’ll miss either one, though. Things usually have shitty timing in my life.

Can’t help but wonder…if I’d taken him up on his offer to head south when he offered to do so, would he actually have done this? I doubt it. It’s like some people care but for the most part, they really don’t.

Later...

Back from the salon but before I get to that, I’ll catch up on neighborhood news. Not surprisingly, the only action going on around here comes from across the street. He’s outside now with the bigger dog running around loose. I guess they do still have two dogs. It doesn’t bark and stays on their property, so that’s nothing.

I guess he stores his golf cart with someone here and they just brought it over to him. I’m not liking that he’s cleared a pathway between the cart and the truck. I’ve noticed that he backs the truck in when it’s not going out anymore that day. The thing is, it’s too early for him to be in for the day. I know his habits well. That makes me worry that the motorcycle is going to be going out a second time, in which case this would be the first time it went out more than once in a day. Tom, who’s taller than me, looked out the kitchen window and said it looked like he was setting up the grill. So I guess that’s there now too. That could have been stuffed in the shed while they were gone but I don’t think there is any place he could have shoved the cart. I just want to see that damn motorcycle covered because then I’ll know it’s not gonna be used for a few days or so! I do NOT want to hear that thing every single day, a threat to my sleep or not.

I wish retirement communities hadn’t gotten so mainstream. Yes, this place is a million times quieter than the last place. But still, the only things you really don’t have here are dogs living outdoors 24/7 and kids.

When he came back in on the motorcycle earlier, he cut the motor right after he rounded the corner and coasted up into his driveway which was very considerate of him. I really appreciate his consideration and I even told him so on Messenger, but now he’s going from reading and ignoring my messages to not even bothering to read them at all.

Then why are we connected? It’s weird how some people want to be connected but not actual friends. Unless I ask a question on someone’s post, there are a few people that never interact with me on their own like Irma, Doc A, the honker, and the honker’s friend.

Now White SUV is there. Good. If they barbecue all afternoon, it’ll be too late to take the motorcycle out. I can’t see if it’s covered yet because the golf cart and truck block my view.

It’s amazing how many people can complain in the park group about ants on the bocci course, somebody swearing at one of the guys that friended me as he was backing out of his driveway, and other things, and they can get away with it.

White SUV just left. He lives here.

Now it’s tree trimming time.

They got back right when we did at 12:15. Can they really go that long by waiting until tomorrow to go out again?

I opened the treadmill again because I really need to make sure I walk and jog a few minutes a day to help my joints.

This time I was serviced by a woman named Daisy, who seemed like she might be deaf. Something was off about her, but she still did a good job. She did both the mani and the pedi. I have silver glitter on my fingernails. There are big chunks of glitter too, so it really shines.

The salon is owned by an Asian couple and the lady told me to give my toenails a break after this round of polish for three weeks and to put cuticle oil on them before bed. They’re getting a little fungal again. If they aren’t there at least dry as hell. I’ll need to give my fingernails a break too. I have neon orange on my toenails, but that’s just regular polish. It’s super bright, like the orange cones they put out when they’re working in the street.

When I return in the spring, I’m going to get gel on both hands and feet. They use a 48-watt UV light. Mine is only a 9-watt. No wonder I can’t fully cure my own gels.

We went next door to the thrift shop, but I didn’t look around much because I had to pee so we came home.

I realized there was no landscaping to miss today because they’re down to every other week, so they don’t come this week.

Doing a little test on the weird one on PB. I’m curious to see if she notices and then deletes her latest account because I friended her so she could see stuff I don’t want to share with everyone.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2022

This is the third or fourth day I’ve had the runs and the second time I slept shitty even though I slept at night. I just kept waking up. Sometimes I’d wake up with stomach cramps. Part of why I slept shitty could be the wine but I’m out now and won’t get any more until next month. Only once a month do I allow myself alcohol these days.

Back to the runs. No clue as to what’s causing it. I stopped the B-complex a couple of days ago. So if that’s it, I don’t know why my stomach is still fucked up.

The weird one didn’t delete her account, but I noticed that the one story chapter she had visible has disappeared.

The motorcycle is covered, so I figure I can count on a break from that for a week or so. He did reply to my message thanking him, after all, with a thumbs up.

Someone, a couple of houses down on Hollywood, is prepping for grass or gravel. I’m guessing gravel.

I’m slowly sharing old journals on PB from my main account. It’s the only one of the four sites I write on with a Members Only option. That way I can share without Google indexing it. I don’t want most of my stuff indexed until I’m gone. I’ve added a disclaimer and omitted the last names of those that are most important to me and that would most likely try to fuck with me if they could. Good luck with that, though. You still have to prove that what someone wrote ruined your life somehow, and the post(s) have to be less than one to three years old.

They used the quieter truck for trash collecting yesterday. Today it was the loud truck for the recyclables. Still not sure I can mask that when sleeping It’s so low-pitched and vibrant like a boom car stereo. Tom says I’ll sleep through it if I’m in a deep sleep. Yeah, but how often am I in a deep sleep?

Well, I’m going to take melatonin before bed tonight. It does tend to put me in a deeper sleep. Maybe then I’ll feel rested enough to go to the beach tomorrow.

I decided to be brave and try cooking my chicken in the slow cooker in French onion soup. If I like how it comes out, I might try golden mushroom soup next time.

Not sure I mentioned the new pillow I got. The light fluffy cotton one I had would be great if there was a way to keep it from getting lumpy. This one is memory foam but it’s only 2.5 inches thick to make it easier for stomach sleepers like me.

Alexa has found a new way to annoy me. Instead of simply doing what I tell her to do when I ask her to play a playlist of mine, she has to beg me to sign up for Music Unlimited. God, I’m so sick of the pushiness in this world!

I asked Walmart on Twitter why they still feel the need to beg for tips when we already opted out of tipping when placing our order. But I’m sure they too, will continue to be too in our faces.

Anyway, he found a Goodwill a half hour away which is where we’re heading now to get out and get some sunshine since I’m too tired for the beach today.

He’s going to roll onto nights with me next time around, even though I haven’t been anxious.

Finally got some ideas for my story, but I don’t know if I’ll actually finish it.

Heading home now after Burger King and a trip to a very dull Goodwill. Despite how big it was, it was a bit pricey and had very few dolls. The ones they had were phony-looking old porcelain dolls.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2022

I’m making a preseasoned pork roast. I want to use up and get the money’s worth out of the aluminum roasting pans I got to use as humidifiers for the plants.

I downloaded the Uber app on my phone because one can never be overprepared in the event of an emergency. If he was sick, God forbid, and needed a prescription, this way I could Uber to Walgreens and back.

We’re not going to the beach today either. I’m still having the runs for some reason we can’t quite figure out. He didn’t really want to go that bad because there’s a unique horse race that he wants to check out. The water would probably be too chilly anyway. It’s almost the afternoon and the AC hasn’t even come on yet.

Anyway, my first guess, now that the supplements are out, is some kind of bacteria in my gut in which case it can take up to three weeks to get out of my system. Could also be a covid symptom in which case it could be a few months before they even test for it. I don’t think I developed Crohn’s disease or IBS just like that. Nor do I think it’s any kind of cancer because I’m not losing weight or coughing and this wouldn’t develop overnight.

Having a little bit of fatigue again so I’m going to extend my waiting time again after taking meds from 30 minutes to 40 minutes.

We ordered some Fitbit extenders so it’s easier to switch from our wrists to our ankles, depending on what we’re doing. Changing bands altogether on a Fitbit is a real pain in the ass. I don’t get why they haven’t made this simpler.

I want to get some kind of Bluetooth headphones or maybe an Apple earbud. I can’t plug my wired headphones into my iPhone anyway, and this way I can be wire-free and not have to take both phones when we go to the beach. So far, I’ve been taking the Android to listen to music and the iPhone to read on. We’re gonna do some research as to what would be best for me, and then look for Black Friday deals.

My hair has gotten so much thinner over the years. I like it and don’t. It’s easier to care for being thinner, but then it makes certain hairstyles harder to achieve.

The weird one did delete her account after all where she said she was starting over for the month of November. In the new one, she swears she’s “here to stay.” *rolls eyes* It’s kind of funny that she says she’s mostly friends only. But what friends could she possibly have? She wants no contact with others, so how can you make friends if you won’t talk to anybody?

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2022

I sent my monthly letter to Kim and kinda chewed her out for the repetitious questions. Really, how many more times does she need to ask me if we have pets? I still don’t understand her extreme forgetfulness. Is there something wrong with her brain? Or does she just not care enough to pay attention? I told her that if I didn’t answer a particular question, it was likely already asked and answered and that if she saved my letters, she could look back and see.

Nothing noisy going on across the street. They were out all day yesterday. I have a feeling, though, that we’re getting close to the next motorcycle ride since it’s been 4 days.

I’m still having the runs, so this makes it about a week now. If it keeps up, I’m going to get anti-diarrhea pills. If that still doesn’t stop it, I’ll contact my docs, but I can’t believe it’s going to last much longer.

Andy is so ridiculous that it’s funny. Of course, I wouldn’t tell him this, though. He posted about God always putting things in his path when he needs them and how he got a free mini-fridge someone was dumping which he “needed” because he’s too lazy to go downstairs at night to refrigerate the portion of the expensive Ocean Spray juice that he didn’t finish.

Wait till I tell him, although maybe not in these exact words, about the dump we rented in Oregon that had a refrigerator that kept crapping out on us and how we needed one even more, didn’t pray for it, and yet I won a mini-fridge from Mountain Dew.

What he needs is to be more active!

The world just keeps getting more and more ridiculous. Now we’ve got this “Personhood” bullshit going on and miscarried or aborted tissues in certain areas must be buried or cremated if the woman doesn’t claim them.

It seems like everything is bad news. The only good news is the beautiful Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico getting married. It’s refreshing to see both women look like women. I know we only have so much control over our looks, but still, it’s nice to see lesbians that don’t feel like they have to impersonate men just because they’re attracted to women. I’ve never felt the need to look and act like a guy just because I’ve been attracted to women.

As much as I hate all the discrimination and the gutting of rights that’s been going on, I do support privately owned businesses that refuse to do business with gays, denying gender affirmation to minors, and the right to be homophobic, and here’s why.

Any business owners should have the right to refuse to do business with anyone they want to because it’s their business, after all, and it should be their right to pick and choose who they do business with. If I have a business, I should be able to deny you service simply because I don’t like you. Or maybe you give me bad vibes.

Also, 15 years old is simply too young for gender-affirming care. Those are the kinds of decisions that should only be made once the person is an adult. Until then, being a gender you would rather not be won’t kill a person any more than being in a climate you would rather not be in would.

Lastly, everybody has people they don’t feel comfortable around (not everyone will admit this) and you can’t make a person like and accept a certain person or groups of people any more than you can force them to like certain foods or types of music. It’s OK to “hate,” so to speak. It only becomes a problem when people try to harm those they don’t like.

I didn’t read it, but I saw a headline about possibly having our first Muslim senator, and yes, that does concern me. And no, I don’t make any apologies for saying so, as yes, it’s my right to feel as I do. The last thing this country needs is more extremism.

Although it’s likely never to be seen, I’ve been having fun dropping exerts for Paula on Messenger. There were times when I wrote about how selfish she was, and I was more than happy to share those journals.

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