(no subject)
I pulled out of my driveway this morning before daylight and I noticed this big black shape laying in my yard. Since it was dark I couldn't see exactly what it was without getting out of the car. I was afraid someone had hit a dog or cat and laid it up in my yard so I put the car in park and got out to investigate.
It was my mailbox. Obviously some feral rednecks who weren't beaten enough as children came down my side of the street sometime in the night with a baseball bat. My box was plastic so it was destroyed. I called my parents once I got to work to see if they would be out anywhere near a Home Depot today so they could pick me up a new one. When my dad called me back later they had bought me one and he even went up and installed it for me. He said it looked like they had hit pretty much all the boxes on that side of the street.
I know that sort of thing happens everywhere but I'm starting to get a little concerned about my neighborhood. It's still nice enough but there are a lot of lease houses in the surrounding area and we've had some people move in over the past six months that have been kind of borderline. With housing becoming a buyer's market I'm afraid it's only going to get worse. My next door neighbor had to quit parking his pick-up in the street because someone came by and broke the windows on it a few months ago. The overall noise level (blaring stereos, squealing tires, etc.) has increased noticeably. There was a shooting at a high school only a couple of miles away (although it's not the closest high school to where I live).
The same thing started to happen a few years ago but then things turned around for the better, so hopefully that will happen again. My neighborhood is solid middle-class but we abut a fairly ritzy area. I'm not in a position to do anything right now as far as moving, but I am going to start being a bit more proactive about getting the house in shape. That way if the neighborhood takes a turn for the worse in the next year or so I will be in a better position to sell. I'd hate to because I really love my house, but I don't want to wait until the area deteriorates so badly that the property loses value.
I'm really not even sure where I would look as far as other neighborhoods. Where I am is basically where I and my parents have been for the past 25 years and I'm not overly familiar with other parts of the city. Plus, I would have to find an area where my parents could also find something. One of the reasons I moved where I am now is to be near my folks; at their age I'm not comfortable being more than a short drive away.
Pity to start the week out on a crummy note because I actually had a fairly nice weekend. I met laforgery1 and his girlfriend for dinner on Friday night and in addition to the good company I also managed to score some frog legs. These were grilled whereas I usually prefer them fried, but they were good nonetheless and the margaritas were fantastic. A bit strong though, which had the unfortunate result of turning me into a complete chatterbox. It was novel at least, considering I usually average about 3 wpm in any conversation.
Saturday I took my mom out to Weatherford, then we came back by the jewelry store to get batteries replaced in some watches. Hung out in the Starbuck's next door while they were doing that and I helped her blow her diet by buying her a banana crème frap. She returned the favor by having me stop by their house for lunch afterward and feeding me taco soup.
I was up early on Sunday to go grocery shopping, then I came home and finally managed to mow the front yard. It was out of control. It had been nice and crispy and dead (thus requiring no upkeep) but we got a little bit of rain and it went crazy. Mainly it was the weeds that went crazy, but the end result was the same.
The rest of Sunday I pretty much just goofed off around the house. I did rouse myself enough to put in some treadmill time, but considering the way I've been eating over the past several weeks that was a necessity.
Nothing exciting should be going on this week. I need to start planning the trip to St. Louis we're taking next month but now that the hotels have been taken care of there's really not much left to do. The co-worker will be out on vacation on Thursday and Friday which means I'll have to cover her desk. Hopefully her boss won't be here those days. If he is that means I'll have to stay late. Since I usually get to work at 7:00 a.m. I'm more than ready to leave by 5:00. The overtime pay always comes in handy though, and I can certainly tough it out for a couple of days for the extra cash.
It was my mailbox. Obviously some feral rednecks who weren't beaten enough as children came down my side of the street sometime in the night with a baseball bat. My box was plastic so it was destroyed. I called my parents once I got to work to see if they would be out anywhere near a Home Depot today so they could pick me up a new one. When my dad called me back later they had bought me one and he even went up and installed it for me. He said it looked like they had hit pretty much all the boxes on that side of the street.
I know that sort of thing happens everywhere but I'm starting to get a little concerned about my neighborhood. It's still nice enough but there are a lot of lease houses in the surrounding area and we've had some people move in over the past six months that have been kind of borderline. With housing becoming a buyer's market I'm afraid it's only going to get worse. My next door neighbor had to quit parking his pick-up in the street because someone came by and broke the windows on it a few months ago. The overall noise level (blaring stereos, squealing tires, etc.) has increased noticeably. There was a shooting at a high school only a couple of miles away (although it's not the closest high school to where I live).
The same thing started to happen a few years ago but then things turned around for the better, so hopefully that will happen again. My neighborhood is solid middle-class but we abut a fairly ritzy area. I'm not in a position to do anything right now as far as moving, but I am going to start being a bit more proactive about getting the house in shape. That way if the neighborhood takes a turn for the worse in the next year or so I will be in a better position to sell. I'd hate to because I really love my house, but I don't want to wait until the area deteriorates so badly that the property loses value.
I'm really not even sure where I would look as far as other neighborhoods. Where I am is basically where I and my parents have been for the past 25 years and I'm not overly familiar with other parts of the city. Plus, I would have to find an area where my parents could also find something. One of the reasons I moved where I am now is to be near my folks; at their age I'm not comfortable being more than a short drive away.
Pity to start the week out on a crummy note because I actually had a fairly nice weekend. I met laforgery1 and his girlfriend for dinner on Friday night and in addition to the good company I also managed to score some frog legs. These were grilled whereas I usually prefer them fried, but they were good nonetheless and the margaritas were fantastic. A bit strong though, which had the unfortunate result of turning me into a complete chatterbox. It was novel at least, considering I usually average about 3 wpm in any conversation.
Saturday I took my mom out to Weatherford, then we came back by the jewelry store to get batteries replaced in some watches. Hung out in the Starbuck's next door while they were doing that and I helped her blow her diet by buying her a banana crème frap. She returned the favor by having me stop by their house for lunch afterward and feeding me taco soup.
I was up early on Sunday to go grocery shopping, then I came home and finally managed to mow the front yard. It was out of control. It had been nice and crispy and dead (thus requiring no upkeep) but we got a little bit of rain and it went crazy. Mainly it was the weeds that went crazy, but the end result was the same.
The rest of Sunday I pretty much just goofed off around the house. I did rouse myself enough to put in some treadmill time, but considering the way I've been eating over the past several weeks that was a necessity.
Nothing exciting should be going on this week. I need to start planning the trip to St. Louis we're taking next month but now that the hotels have been taken care of there's really not much left to do. The co-worker will be out on vacation on Thursday and Friday which means I'll have to cover her desk. Hopefully her boss won't be here those days. If he is that means I'll have to stay late. Since I usually get to work at 7:00 a.m. I'm more than ready to leave by 5:00. The overtime pay always comes in handy though, and I can certainly tough it out for a couple of days for the extra cash.