THE INN AND BACK

3/24/07

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Singly checking into a hotel room with six way full length mirrors gives one plenty of opportunity for self reflection at every angle!"

3/25/07

GROSS INCOMPETENCE AND THE "UGLY AMERICAN"

These are things that I experience daily. Gross incompetence at almost every level. Whether it's ordering a bagel at a restaurant, or trying to find out the process I should follow to appeal a decision that was made by the Motor Vehicle Adminstration just to be told "there is no such thing as an appeals process."

The following happened on my second day at the Inn.

One of the female guests was mulling around the cafeteria choosing her breakfast items. All the while she is talking on her cell phone complaining to her "phantom" friend about her "dismal" lack of choices! "This is ridiculous, I need black tea and there isn't any. This is unacceptable" Indignantly turns to custodian. "All these teas, but none are black. Where is the black tea?"

custodian: "The Inn isn't allowed to carry black tea!" (authors note: this is what I mean by gross incompetence, he doesn't honestly thing we'll believe that, does he?")

guest: Complaining on cell phone and to custodian at the same time: "That's it, I've had it! I'm cancelling the room!"

me: I'm thinking, "What?! are you crazy?" Why don't you just politely ask the manager if there is any black tea anywhere, and if not: "Could the Inn please consider carrying it in the future?" Reader, I then out of curiousity went to personally inspect this "dismal" tea situation. 16 TYPES! There were 16 flavors and this woman cancelled her room! If this isn't the epitome of "The Ugly American" I don't know what is!

3/26/07

It's Monday. I was hoping that I'd catch up on my sleep at the INN. But the steel  hotel room doors slam shut at approximately 30 second intervals! This vibrates the furniture and jars me awake, just like at home! So, I'm still exhausted. But, I'm sure at some level the change of environment helped, at least some.

To take public transit home would save me 25 dollars. But I fear being robbed because I have a full gym bag with me; so I am forced to take a taxi. It's quite a sad state of affairs when it is too dangerous to wait at a bus stop, or ride a bus in broad daylight because you know you have a high chance of being robbed if you are carrying any possessions at all!

 I asked the hotel if they could reccommend a taxi service where the drivers drive safely. I said: "Please don't call  Jimmy's cab, I've had nothing but bad experiences with them." She said, o.k. I won't. 10 minutes later my cabbie pulls up. I get in and we have pretty enjoyable conversation except that he makes a cell phone call every 10 minutes or so-and or ANSWERS  a call every 10 minutes.    He does not have a hands free device.

 We get to my house, and he asks if I have a few minutes to keep chatting. I reply: "Yes"; because my intuition tells me that outside of his driving,  he is a safe person.  Then, he pulls off with me still in the car! I was surprised but not scared. He didn't ask me per se if I'd like to keep him company on his runs. He asked if I had a few minutes! So, after he pulls away I decide not to protest, as he says: "I have a couple of runs to make."

 Well, Mac* was not speeding when he took me HOME.   But it was a different story on this second run. But what's worse is HE FRICKIN' FELL ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL! Can you see why I am desperate for a car?! I have bad experiences with 99% of the people who I am forced to ride with! Luckily, he woke back up before totally crossing into the opposing lane of traffic! I don't want a car, I NEED A CAR, BECAUSE I WANT TO LIVE A LONG HAPPY LIFE! So, I will put "car" on my blog wish list!

BACK "HOME"

I was always afraid of what would happen to my apt. if I left for an overnight.  The 3 days worth of newspapers were piled up in front of my doorstep. Ironically, since I was gone over the weekend, I had the least chance of getting robbed again because (in theory at least) the maintenance men are off from work, and they are the ones who are stealing from us. I had only been home 1/2 hour when management left a letter under my door. "PLEASE COME TO THE OFFICE"

Management controls our lives 24/7. We have cameras all over the entire bldg. watching our every move. They leave us letters with instructions, on average, 3 times a week. They leave us letters telling us that "they might come into our apts. at any time between 2/14 and 2/28" for example. So I am always on high alert between 8 and 6 monday thru friday. They treat us like it's their apt. not our apt. So management is robbing us blind,  then ordering us to come to the office! I am fed up.

 So, I wrote the following reply directly onto the letter they sent me: "PLEASE, GO TO HELL." Of course I filed it away I didn't deliver it!

3/28/07

I'm pretty sick of restaurant food. So I walked to Giant and bought some salmon and mayo. On my walk back from Giant I saw the bus driver drop off a woman at a spot that they normally refuse to drop off at. I recognized her from aorund the 'hood and on the bus. Turns out she lives in another HUD bldg. also run by La Pew. (yes, la pew, just like peppie la peu)

 I told her about how maintenance steals from us tenants regularly. She stunned me when she said "Yes, they stole 200 dollars from me and I've hired a lawyer, I am sueing them!" YIPPEE! FINALLY SOMEONE BESIDES ME HAS TAKEN SOME ACTION! I "pray" that these maintenance men get fired and quick. I feel like such a prisoner here. Not safe in my home, not safe outside! Desperate to get out either way.

3/30/07

Maintenance saw me get on a bus today. That's very bad news, because that gives them "license" to go into my home, steal and intimidate. So, I set up a trap of sorts that would allow me to tell whether they have been in my home or not. Sure enough they were. I called 311. (non emergency police)

Officer H. would not dust for fingerprints or write up a report even though I have evidence that they were in my home. Officer H. said: "You'll just have to move. I can't do anything to help you. You have no "proof" that they were here. I showed him the evidence and he said, "that's not good enough, if you're not sure that there is anything missing from this specific day then there is nothing I can do."