Welcome to a Series of Increasingly Ridiculous Events

I have had a wild week and a half. It didn’t start well, then became overwhelming, and has ended on an upswing. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

I’d say that everything started to go down hill on the last Friday in February, but I think the grey clouds really started gathering on Thursday…maybe Wednesday. Basically, I left my laptop at the office Wednesday night, didn’t realize it until I was about to start work at home Thursday morning, and had to work extra late. On Friday, I noticed something hanging from the bottom of my car. The car still ran okay, but I had a sinking gut feeling that this was it. My almost 13 year old Ford Focus was done being a part of my life.

Yes, I cried. She was my first car that I owned. She came with me through five moves, three states, several major life events, and I put a lot of money in her to keep her alive.

Then I checked my mail box and I found a letter summoning me for jury duty on my day off. 

While going through all of this, I was trying to hire landscapers to fix a falling retaining wall on the side of my house.

Oh, and the United States bombed Iran. 

Great. Perfect. Just what we need.

I decided to start my car shopping on Sunday. In less than a week, I did a bunch of research, found a few car options through a car buying service I have access to, and got pre-approved for a loan. 

While that was going on, I got my poor old Focus looked at, fixed (for the most part), and locked myself out of my house. 

When I went to pick up my car from the shop, the check engine light popped on. Not the death red one, but the soft “this needs attention soon” yellow light. I asked the shop if it was because I opted to not buy the new battery (since I’d decided to buy a new car and all) with the tariff surcharge. They said no, took my keys (all of my keys), and (after half an hour) gave me the option to leave it overnight. As soon as I stepped out of the Lyft, I realized the shop never gave me back my house keys.

Panic sets in. The shop was technically closed, but I had overheard that they tend to stay a little after official closing hours. I raced back in an Uber, while also having a locksmith on standby. I actually hadn’t thought to call a locksmith until after calling my friends in that blind panic and one of them mentioned that that was an option.

The Uber driver was great. The poor guy from Afghanistan had just lost his job to layoffs and was dealing with my panicking self like a champ. He reminded me how to add a second stop to my trip so I wouldn’t be stranded at the car shop after getting there (my phone was at 9% and dying fast).

This is where my luck started to shift. 

The shop had been closed roughly 45 minutes, but there was still one lone mechanic there. He was just switching off the office lights when I ran up to the window like a hunted rabbit, jumping and waving to get his attention. He carefully approached the front door, not sure if the crazy person outside wasn’t dangerous, and I yelled that they had my house keys.

As soon as I said that I owned the Focus, he knew who I was and gave me my keys. The Uber driver took me home and I spent the rest of the evening thanking the multiverse for my stupid luck.

The work week was otherwise uneventful, minus a bunch of dealerships texting, emailing, and calling me to set up appointments. I finally found a pre-owned car that I’d be happy with. It was a 2026 with less than 1000 miles on it. It wasn’t exact color I wanted, but it wasn’t one I couldn’t live with. I made an appointment to see that exact car on Friday.

Though my luck was starting to turn, some of my friends weren’t having that same experience. One friend was stuck in the Middle East trying to get to their parent’s funeral. The same region that was currently breaking out into violence. Americans were being told to shelter in place or find someway to evacuate. The death toll was rising. 

My friend is okay, but they didn’t make it to the funeral. I’m just so glad that they are okay.

Friday rolls around, I go to the dealership, no car. It was a service rental and they had rented it out. This dealership tried to up sell me on a new car of the same model, but I wasn’t in the mood. Even after they offered me a nice price for the Focus, I said I wouldn’t make any choices unless I saw the car I made the appointment for. 

I waited all Saturday morning, but no progress on the car I’d hoped to buy. So I went back to my car buying service and found a different car in the color I wanted at the original dealership I had done my test driving. It was also a service rental car with a few more miles, but a fair bit cheaper.  

That was the car I ended up buying. The dealership that I had gone to on Friday eventually did get back to me with the car I originally wanted to see, but it was too late at that point. I had a much better deal with this other car and even managed to swing free oil changes at the brand for as long as I owned the car. They even gave me a lower APR than I thought was possible.

I still cried about selling my old car. An emotional release that was sorely needed.

Now, I’m nervous that another catastrophe is around the corner. Yes, I had a tough week, but it all weirdly turned out okay. 

But we’re still in this tense limbo of whether or not the United States is at war with Iran. Prices are rising like crazy. My friend was stuck in the UAE while Iran retaliated against US allies and angry protests were breaking out. ICE was spotted in the town I grew up in, not too far from where I live now.

Why am I still anxious? 

Before each event I just faced, I was able to prepare. I don’t feel prepared anymore.

If you enjoyed this post, please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week. 

Welcome to Tricks and Treats

My first Halloween at my house was so much fun. I’m glad Halloween fell on a Friday this year, so I could fully enjoy the holiday (next year it’ll be on a Saturday!).

I didn’t have a lot of decorations to put up, but a lot of houses in my neighborhood went all out with lights, inflatables, and giant skeletons (they are quite popular in this area). One house even had zombies “rising” up from the ground. I put up my door sign - though I couldn’t find the actual hanger so it was on the storm door’s handle - and carved a pumpkin to put on my stoop.

It’s a winky face!

Some of my neighbors set up a small bonfire and handed out candy as a group. A few dressed up or wore Halloween themed clothes. I found a headband shaped like cat ears, wore a “Hocus Pocus” shirt, and layered my original Busch Gardens Hallow-Scream sweatshirt. I chose to sit on my stoop and enjoy the ambiance of kids running around collecting their treat with a bag and a half of candy.

I did not buy enough candy.

I didn’t know what to expect from Halloween in my neighborhood. At the apartments I used to live at, only one had trick or treating and it wasn’t an annual thing. When I lived in the house in New Jersey, I only ever had one trick or treater. Every year, I’d buy candy and be left with too much to eat until January. I asked the previous owners of the house if they got trick or treaters and they said “not really”.

I don’t think the family put much effort in the holiday because there were tons of kids and families out and about. Trick or treating started promptly at 6:00, just as the sun was setting, and went until just after 8:00. I went inside right at 8:00 and had one last group of kids knock on the door at around 8:10.

My first half bag of candy quickly and realized that I could only give one piece if I wanted to stretch the amount I had into the night. I met a few witches, some Disney Princesses (Snow White was a nice surprise), grim reapers, and quite a few blow up characters of various designs (standouts include a giant rubber chicken and a hot dog being abducted by aliens; there may have also been a Pikachu). I even saw little angel. Family costumes were popular and I saw a mom and dad with their daughter as “A League of Their Own”. My least favorite duo were a duo of clowns (one had to have been a dad or older brother) who went around honking horns to announce their presence. It brought me back to the 2010s clown attacks.

I ran out of my traditional candy within an hour. I broke out my fancy pumpkin spice chocolates and tried to keep to one piece per kid. But I’m a sucker for the “my mom really likes this candy, can I have an extra for her?” puppy dog eyes. I don’t care if they were lying, they get an extra piece for mom.

The chocolates were gone so much faster than the original bags. I then approached my neighbors, looking to meet new people and moan about not having enough candy. They took pity on me (after exchanging names and some small talk) and gave me a refill of their candy. 

So, I went back to my stoop where I met a pair of teens dressed in black and clearly not in any costume, but begging for candy none-the-less. I complimented their “ninja” costumes and the teens seemed to appreciate me playing along. Then came a group of multiple families with all the kids in costumes of characters I wasn’t at all familiar with. I thought one might be a Pikachu, but I got a groan as a response. 

My knowledge of gen alpha’s favorite things is pretty much nonexistent despite having gen alpha cousins. At least I understood the two parents walking around with a balloon 6 and 7. I still have no idea who the kid in a yellow fur suit was supposed to be.

Refilled bag of candy ran out just as quickly and the neighbors gave me a second refill. They also told me to head inside at 8:00. I agreed with that deadline because it was getting colder. 

I did leave my pumpkin and porch light on, just in case there were a few late night treaters. There were a couple and I gave them a few extra pieces of candy from the second refill. I finally brought the pumpkin in and turned off the porch light around 10:00 (later than necessary, but I got wrapped up in a movie).

All in all, it was a fun evening. I’m so happy I finally had tons of trick or treaters. It reminded me of when I was a kid walking around my neighborhood with my parents or the years my dad would decorate his truck and drive around a group of us in the bed (we sat on hay bails and had plenty of supervision). My parents used to go all out decorating our house - complete with a graveyard, our skeleton (named Fred), and a fog machine. Mom usually passed out candy dressed as a witch.

I’m glad I’m able partake in the trick or treating traditions in my neighborhood. I hope to have more decorations next year and dress up a bit more. 

But that’s next year. This year, I made some nice memories to look back on.

Until the next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Welcome to Lawn Signs

Lawns have long been a place for self expression in the areas I grew up in. Holidays like Halloween and Christmas always had people out doing each other to see who could have the best decorations. Year round, I knew plenty of Catholics who had a statue of the mother virgin in their front yard. People hang flags, do amazing landscaping, and will put up political signs near election time. 

This year, political signs are everywhere. And no wonder, it's a controversial time in the USA. Which brings me to the reason I write this post.

This is a story about two neighbors - well, maybe three or more - and their epic battle of political rivalry using lawn signs.

Sorry guys, for safety sake, no actual pictures of the houses will be shown.

The Saga Begins in Mid-September...

Since moving back to Virginia, I have been driving Lewinsville Road quite a bit to visit my dad. It is on this suburban street - used to avoid Tysons Corner - that we have the prime example of political rivalry and epic pettiness. 

While driving, I would check out the neighborhood and fantasize about owning a home there (something I am extremely unlikely to achieve, even with a more modest house). 

I noticed these two houses early in my travels. Trump flags in Northern Virginia are a rare sight and this one was next to a house with a peace gay pride flag. 

My first thought was: they must get along swell. (Please note the sarcasm)

And for months after, that's all I thought about the two houses.

The September rolled around and political signs for our upcoming election begin popping up everywhere. The house with the Trump flag invests in one of those giant Trump/Pence signs that takes up half their tiny front yard. 

I was unsurprised by this, however my interest became piqued when the next week, the next door neighbors had moved their peace gay pride flag from the pole by the front door to hang from one of their trees right by the road, lit up with fairy lights.

An update on my thoughts: this might get interesting. 

Another week goes by and the giant Trump/Pence sign is vandalized (it's not the only one in this area). The Trump House - as I've taken to mentally calling it - puts up a dozen or so smaller lawn signs. Some say Trump/Pence, others are for one of the other Republican candidates on the ballot, and two handmade signs with arrows pointing at the giant sign saying: "is this law and order?"

The neighbors, at this point, seem to have had enough. They buy a dozen or so small signs for Biden/Harris to stick all over their front lawn. They also add more fairy lights.

As Halloween Draws Near...

It's now getting to be that point in October where most houses have Halloween decorations up. I must admit, the people in Mclean are fantastic decorators (can't wait to see what they do for Christmas). But between the humongous spiders and blowup ghouls are a few lawn signs thrown in for flavor.

Except at these two houses, who have now completely covered their lawns with political signs. The Trump House continues to have problems with vandals - though I notice that the smaller signs get replaced after awhile. The giant one continues to stand, spray paint addition et all.

This past week, I noticed two hilarious additions to the displays. The first isn't all that glamourous, but it did cause me to start giggling. The other next door neighbor to the Trump House put up their own handmade sign reading: "Republicans for Biden". It's got little blue and red stars dancing around the border. 

However, the truly magnificent addition to all this is a newly erected giant Biden/Harris sign that towers over the tagged Trump/Pence one. It's up on stilts and at the top of each is a pink flamingo looking right over the Trump House's.

It's amazing. Truly a chef's kiss.

Three Weeks Until...

We are three weeks from the election and I have no idea if things will continue to happen around these two houses. However, once the flamingos went up, I knew I had to tell this tale to you my readers. 

For this isn't just a tale of the political landscape in America (though it totally is), but the lengths people will go to out do each other in the most petty of ways.

If there are any developments in this on going saga, I will try to provide an update. 

In the mean time...stay safe, stay sane, and laugh as much as you can.

If you enjoyed this post, or it really pissed you off, please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to Modern Thoughts on a Pandemic

One of the first black and white movies I ever watched was Ghost on the Loose. It’s one of the East Side Kids/ Bowery Boys movies (basically a 30s/40s version of the “brat pack” of the 80s). The plot of the movie is about how the Kids want to get a house ready for one of their newly married friends, accidentally go to the wrong house where the Nazis are printing war propaganda (the irony isn’t lost of me), solve the “haunted house” mystery, save the USA from Nazis, and end up quarantined because one of them catches the German Measles at the end of the movie.

I distinctly remember asking my dad and grandfather once the movie was over what it meant to be quarantined. They said it meant that they couldn’t leave the house because they might get other people very sick.

To a child who grew up when the Chicken Pox vaccine was just coming out (I actually did catch the Chicken Pox because the vaccine hadn’t come out just yet), the idea that an illness could cause an entire group of people to be trapped inside (even if they didn’t have the disease) was tough to comprehend. I only ever heard about Measles because my parents would mention how lucky it was we didn’t have to worry about it. I knew about Polio from history books and knowing a nice older lady who had contracted the illness as a child.

Epidemics and pandemics were for the history books. My childhood understanding of the world insisted that doctors could cure anything.

This, of course, isn’t true in the slightest.

It wasn’t until I became interested in zombies (of all things) that my understanding of diseases began to change. The early to mid-2000s were all about the zombies. I read the Zombie Survival Guide, watched all of the zombie movies, and started researching the “what if” situations that might occur if a zombie outbreak did happen. This research lead me down a rabbit hole into the general spread of diseases and then into pandemics. To my adolescent brain, a zombie apocalypse wasn’t that dissimilar to what happened during the Black Death.

Fast forward several years and I’m in college taking a class called Mathematical Biology. It was one of the few biology classes I enjoyed, probably because it was all systems of equations and differential equations, but that’s not the point. There was some discussion of a zombie apocalypse during the class - predator/prey models are much more interesting if zombies are involved, but what really caught my interest was the SIR model or the Susceptibility, Infection, and Recovery model that is used for modeling the spread of highly infectious diseases.

A year later, I’m in my Numerical Analysis class and picking my final project. I chose to attempt replicating the spread and death rate of the 1918 pandemic. This required some manipulation of the model on my part (the most simplistic version of the model doesn’t take into account death rates and instead categorized them as “recovered” - logic being that if you’re dead you no longer have the disease).

I did a ton of research for this project and fell down several more rabbit holes into why certain cities in the US had different death rates (the flattening of the curve model wasn’t something I found, but the number of doctors in different cities because of World War 1 was - more doctors equaled more people living). My model wasn’t perfect, but I learned a lot.

The most interesting thing I learned during that project was just how likely a pandemic actually was. I’ve already lived through Swine Flu, Bird Flu, Ebola, SARS, and a few other potential pandemics, but the one we’re facing now is definitely a taste of what is likely to come in the future.

Don’t get me wrong. COVID-19 is deadly, dangerous, and should be taken seriously.

However, with climate change, over population, and the general nature of viruses - things could be and possibly might get worse. It might not be COVID-19 - though there is still potential for it to mutate a second time like the 1918 pandemic and have a worse mortality rate.

There’s also the human response we have to factor in. Already panic shopping has caused stores to run out of essentials. Schools are closing and people are being told to work from home (if they can). People who are homeless or suffer from food insecurity are going to be hit the hardest and it might not be the disease that hurts them most.

There are reports of people stock piling resources to sell at jacked up prices. Hospitals are concerned about the number of cases they’ll be able to handle. There’s a shortage of face masks and the entire country if Italy is on lockdown.

For people like me - financially secure, healthy, and can easily work from home - this is a minor inconvenience. Even if I were to catch the disease it might not be that bad for me.

But this situation isn’t just about me. There are millions of vulnerable people who are no where near as luck.

Here are some things I ask for people to do (if they are able) during this crisis:

1)  Wash your hands - Soap and water are designed to remove the virus from your skin. Use hand sanitizers in between or if you can’t get to soap.
2) If you feel sick for ANY reason - stay home. It might not be the COVID-19, but no chances should be taken. If you need to see a doctor, call in first. Even if you don’t have the virus, if you are sick your immune system is weakened and you could catch something worse. On the flip side you could also spread your illness to someone else.
3) Don’t panic buy, but if you do please donate some of your abundance to local shelters and food banks.
4) Keep tabs on your family, neighbors, or friends who may not be able to prepare or protect themselves as well. I’ve heard numerous reports of older people being scared to go shopping for fear of catching the disease. If you are healthy - see if you can help out.
5) Not everyone can work from home, please be respectful of people who are required to be present to work. See if you can help them by watching their kids or walking their pets.

Please stay safe everyone. I never imagined that I would live through a pandemic, though I always knew it was possible. Our world is not a me, it is a we.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Welcome to the Unpredicitable Way of Life

Story time everyone!

Though today was a usual day, there were a few key events that changed how things went. I’m not saying they were extremely significant or changed the course of my life forever. They were just mundane events that turned my day from predictable to delightful.

To start, I locked myself out of my apartment.

I’ve lived in my current place for almost three years and this was the first time I managed to close my front door without my keys in my pocket. Unfortunately, my landlady hadn’t been home at the time to let me back in, though she was thankfully on her way when I texted her. And to add insult to injury, it was raining.

I could have gotten angry over my rotten luck and sheer stupidity, but there didn’t seem to be a point. If things had been worse, I’d have texted all my friends to find one who could take me in like a lost puppy.

So, I sat on my front stoop, a little damp, and played on my phone until my landlady came back. It was nice and a little peaceful. The birds were chirping, and I got to pet a friendly doggie. It was nice to relax for a minute and enjoy the last day of March...even if I did get a little wet.

Fast forward a few hours and I’ve gotten to my favorite hiking spot. It was later than I wanted it to be, but beggars can’t be choosers (especially after they’ve locked themselves out of their apartment for half the morning). I decided to try a new trail, which was very muddy and partially flooded. Not a big deal for me. I don’t mind getting dirty, it’s not for everyone.

That’s when I met another hiker - a visitor from Belgium staying in one of the nearby towns for work and wanted to do something on her one day off. Unfortunately, since she was a visitor, she didn’t know much about the trails.

Fortunately, she ran into me.

She asked if she could join me and I said yes. I took her to some of my favorite spots on the trails that wouldn’t be as muddy, including the lookout peak where you can see New York City on a clear day. We couldn’t see the city, but it was still a nice view and we had a great time talking with each other.

However, neither one of would have met if she had decided to hike earlier and I hadn’t locked myself out of my apartment.

What’s the point of this anecdote?

Well, my aunts would tell me that this is an example of “everything happening for a reason”. Because I locked myself out, I was able to meet someone new. I don’t know how much I believe in that. My feelings on the idea of fate and destiny are mixed at best.

Nah, I think this is one of those times where I didn’t allow an unfortunate incident ruin my day and therefore got to make someone else’s a little better too. I mean I could have stayed home and sulked all afternoon.

Why today’s events happened aren’t as important as learning from them. Like making sure my keys are in my pocket before I close my locked front door.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.