"Loose in the mails"

First off, I'd like to point out that this is my 100th blog post. That's pretty big for me. When I started this blog, even though I didn't want it to end up as something I would quit by March, I was pretty sure that it was going to go down that way. But 100 posts later and I'm still going. Yay!

When I got home from work and checked the mail, there was a plastic bag with a piece of charred, soggy mail sitting in my mailbox with my opera tickets. 0.0" I brought it to the table and had a better look at it. The message on the side of the bag started:

Dear Postal Customer:

The enclosed was found loose in the mails or has been damaged in handling in the Postal Service.

LOL Orly? I would never have guess from the smoky remains. D:! Inside the bag was a note, detailing the horrific traffic accident and subsequent fire, and a charred and completely water-logged piece of junk mail. Someone could have saved me $600/month on my mortgage in early March. I just about fell out of my seat laughing. Oh noes! A wild junk mail appears! It were loose in the mails! Run for your lives! At least I was not missing anything important... Makes me wonder how much else never makes it through.

Nearly lost in all this was the fact that our season tickets for next year's opera schedule arrived: Il Trovatore, Carmen and The Mikado, as well as a summer performance of Tosca. ^_^/ We're really looking forward to going out this year.

After all this excitement, I could feel the walls of my house rattling, so I knew that the neighbors must be home. Last time I was over at the house next door, my wife and the gal over there got into it over the volume of the music coming from their back deck at 11 at night. In fairness, their deck is RIGHT BELOW our bedroom window the air filter that I used to drown out the noise was broken. I have felt bad about having to call the cops on them and not being able to settle like, well, neighbors or friends.

I also have had an on-going issue with neighbors across the street. Her husband is in prison (nicest guy, btw, his current issue is a ghost of the past) and she works nights, and for a while she didn't take her kids to a sitter. I understood money was tight, so I never said anything and just kept an eye on their house while I was awake. Well, one night, the kids were lonely and wanted to spend the night either at Colin's (my) house or with their grandmother. To make sure they got their way, they locked themselves out of their house, then lied about it and made up a story that their grandma was coming to get them. I was sick as a dog that weekend, so I couldn't handle the kids staying over that night. They had a phone number to call for their grandma, but the guy at the other end of the line had no idea what was going on. These kids were locked out of their house for more than 3 hours in the middle of the night, and there were no family available for them, so I called the police. It was a hard decision, because I really felt for this family. A day or two later, the mother got on D's case for calling the police and blaming her new-found situation on us for not being able to see through her children's lies.

I really feel bad that I seem to get off on the wrong foot with all my neighbors - I either don't know them well or at all, or end up calling the police on them. Doesn't help that I can be a complete social recluse and be happy as a lark that way. But this has been bothering me for a while. I went next door and met with the owner of the truck with the system that was knocking stuff off our walls. He was visiting with a family member of mom across the street. I didn't go over to complain, though. Instead, I went over to apologize for my part in getting off on the right foot. The guy with the truck understood and we talked about it for a bit, and I invited both of them over tomorrow night for some beers and grilling, if they're interested. Later I was able to talk to the gal that owns the house - the one that my wife got into a fight with. Even if they don't come over, I hope things get better with my neighbors with time. Sure would be nice to be able to hang out with my neighbors as friends again.

Spent the evening cleaning the lower level of the house a little, just in case people do decide to arrive. We also went to WalMart to gas up and get some beer and brats. If no one shows up, that's OK: more beer for us. :P I just didn't want to invite people over empty handed. Did a little bit of campaigning to wind down for the night, but the counsel is still all emo at me and won't let me keep my emblem.

So, tomorrow will either be a neighborhood BBQ or a quiet cookout with the family. Either way, I feel at peace with it, and I'm glad I took the steps I did to rebuilding the bridges I've had a part in knocking down.