today started with a rumble. i was awoken by the sound of a sawzall, which sounded as if some jackass was cutting thru my front door. close enuff. insulation installers have been at my complex for the last few days and were cutting a hole in the ceiling of the breezeway to gain access to the attic. each time i tried to drift back into my risque, female-filled dream, i was jarred awake again by this early morning menace. when i opened the door to see what the hell was up, i saw these three smiling jackasses making a mess of my cute little harvest display of ornamental pumpkins & crap. the one guy says, (with a spanish accent), "hey, man, it's a gonna be a leetle noisy". and the other guy says, "i theenk he knows, man" (also in an accent.) and i say, "yeah, i know, man" (with no accent) and shut the door. after they were done cutting the hole, noise dropped considerably except for scuffling and random spanish phrases in the ceiling. i was expecting a foot or a leg to punch thru my ceiling at any time. i decided not to take a dump this morning, since i was unsure if these guys had full view bathroom access thru the ventilation fan hole. i must admit, these guys made me laff as i walked out the door to work. as i walked thru the plywood shrapnel to the stairs, i saw this bird sitting on the railing, and i thought, "damn, that's one tame bird, it didn't fly away as i walked by." so i went back for a closer look, and discovered that this bird hadn't flown in many a sunny days. it was rather dead and naturally freeze dried in the attic, and had been deliberately propped up on one stiff, dead leg between the railing boards, apparently by these insulation dudes. very nice, guys. it was the funniest thing i'd seen all day. it was only 9:45, but hey.

but anyway, because of my double take on the bird, i ran into the neighbor guy who lives below me. we had the nice little chat that we always have in passing. i feel bad cuz i've lived here for a year and a half and hardly ever done anything with him, even though he has this standing offer to hang out and drink some beers. but since my new wednesday hours have me getting out at 6:30, we decided to hang out tonight.

i got out late, and i felt bad again cuz he went to the trouble of getting a pizza and laying out all this food and stuff and it was cold when i got there, but we had a grand old time shooting the shit for an hour and a half or so. we discussed how no one in this complex knows anyone else, and he verified that no, i'm not as noisy as i think i am up above him. that's good, cuz part of my trooper background investigation involves interviewing the people who live around me. looking around his apartment, i took note of all his christmas decorations, which made me feel like crap AGAIN cuz, come to think of it, the LAST time i paid him a visit was the LAST time he had these ornaments out. unless he has them all year, it's been a while.

after sitting in his place and seeing all his cool furniture and stuff in the exact same apartment layout as mine, my apartment looks like shit in comparison. i've got this ramshackle frat house furniture, a cheap-ass cosco table & chairs, and a mattress on the floor. i need "queer eye for the straight guy" to come in here and tear me down and build me back up.

see, i CAN come up with something upbeat. yay for me.