Keep on movin'

It seems I've lost three more neighbors just in the immediate "circle around the pool" area that I actually see when I'm walking the dog.  I'm starting to think they really are going to be looking at an occupancy problem soon.  Something occurred to me this morning that has niggled in the back of my mind a lot, but jumped to the forefront all of a sudden.

The "market value" for the apartments is too high.  One of the leading complaints in the online reviews of the apartment complex is the fact that they have a mandatory $40\mo fee for cable television.  They don't consider it part of the rent, yet they give no choice in opting out of the fee.  They were up-front with me about the fee when I moved in and I honestly didn't care that much; apparently they haven't been quite as up-front with other people though.  I just consider it part of the rent ...even when I was looking at other apartments I was subtracting the amount I pay for cable here to the rent elsewhere when considering pricing elsewhere since there isn't any way I would pay for cable by choice no matter where I went.  They can do all the mental gymnastics they want to justify it, but if I have to add that amount as part of the rent when considering other apartments, then it is part of the rent.  I guess that only the people who intend to purchase cable regardless would consider it separately.

I ran into the "pretty couple" last night when I was taking the mutt for his beddy-bye walk.  I'm really pretty fuzzy-headed, but I guess next time I see them, I might have to ask for clarification.  I think they may have gotten a pretty huge renewal rate on their lease as well though.  It's hard to say for sure because they did something else that I'm just a little bit too familiar with; now that they know I'm an atheist, they've taken it upon themselves to start acting all Christian-like around me.

I never fail to be amazed that I can walk into a bar and strike a conversation with almost any drunk who might cheat you, rob you, curse you, or whatever under normal circumstances ...but they will suddenly become all about "the love of God" when they find out you're an unbeliever.  It's the same in everyday life ...people whom it would never even occur to to mention religion, suddenly become all about it when they find you don't ascribe to it.  I really liked the "pretty couple" ...shame that if they feel some sort of need to suddenly start preaching to me or "provide an example" ...I'll likely just start avoiding them.  If something as an example is dependent on being pointed out, then it isn't an example at all ...it's just an act.

I think of my last job and my ethical structure on what I would charge for.  I was apparently considered to be some sort of super-Christian; I might bring up atheism in conversation, but never really linked my ethics with any philosophical stance on deities.  When the cat got out of the bag, the two main outspoken Christians had their worlds thrown for a loop upon discovering that an "evil atheist" had a stronger work ethic than they did (bear in mind that these people had known me for quite a few years and that the subject of religion had simply never come up).  Average hours billed by every technician was posted every week; it was the two outspoken Christians that I saw a marked drop in average hours after they found I was an atheist (I'm talking about a 20-30% drop).  To be honest, I never actively paid all that much attention to how many hours other people billed ...but one of the two outspoken types had to point out how he had cleaned up his act on his billing.

The above is what I mean about an example being dependent on pointing it out.  The fact that I refused to double bill, or charge for something I either didn't do or only did half-ass enough to justify charging for it, was never an issue with anyone until that fine day when someone in a group meeting remarked about my being a good Christian, and I simply corrected them.  If someone called a Christian a good Muslim in a public setting, I'm pretty sure they'd feel the need to point out they aren't Muslim.  The point is that I never particularly cared much about what people thought about my average hours.  It provides no positive example to me when someone feels a need to point out how their ethics have changed only after being shamed by nothing other than a person not sharing their belief structure having a stronger work ethic.  It may be heartfelt, but it's still just an act as far as I'm concerned.  Ironic that the other outspoken Christian still remains what I consider to be a very positive example of his faith.  He adjusted himself and felt no need to point it out to me ...he only talked religion nominally more than he ever did before and remained pleasant to be around.  He was a nice guy who never felt the need to point out how nice he was in order to make some sort of point.  His life was the point, and I'm pretty sure that's how the bible says you are supposed to be.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.  -James 3:13

I found that verse just with a little google search; my memory really isn't good enough to pull anything like that out of my ass anymore; it was actually the "lamp under the bushel" parable that immediately jumped to mind.  The light I see shining from most Christians I know is hardly something to be proud of.  I think the above said it a little better for my purposes though:  if it's only being done to show somebody else, then it hardly comes from a place of humility.

Oh well, that was hardly a tangent I meant to go off on.  A guy suffering his third day of nicotine withdrawal is hardly on any moral high ground although it does help explain why his mind is all over the place.

This coming week is liable to be busy.  I took the first load of stuff from my closet to Moms on Friday:  four CPU's that were gathering dust in my closet (most of which probably needs to just be thrown out).  I plan to make another such run on Tuesday although I haven't decided exactly what to take just yet.

I have a second car now; I've actually had it for years, but I've just finished making it legal to drive again.  The story isn't something I'll really want to go into here except for the sense of utter relief I have regarding no longer having it at my sister and BIL's (where it's been for nearly the last three years).  I still have a bit of work to do on it ...the big one right now revolves around replacing the rear hatch seal.  I hope to check around a little bit in the morning and see if anyone reasonably nearby might have one.  If I could change it out tomorrow that would be great, but I'm fine with waiting until Thursday or the weekend if need be as well.  Either way, I plan to be driving it after Tuesday on at least a semi-permanent basis.  I may or may not hit the car with some rubbing compound and a buffer while I'm there on Tuesday; it looks okay, but could sure use at least a little bit of improvement.

The main focus on Tuesday will simply be to get started on the steam cleaning.  Odds are good that I'll want to go back on Wednesday.  We'll see what I feel like then I guess.

stick a fork in me, I think I'm done for the day.