beginning week six

I don't think there was really all that much doubt about "if" given the circumstances, but I've just completed five weeks without a smoke.  For the most part, I think I'm "there" and once next week is out of the way, then it ought to be interesting to see what kind of new life develops.  It just seems as though "being" a non-smoker will be a whole lot easier once my entire life has a bit of an overhaul.  I was smoking when I moved into the last apartment and this one as well.  It isn't exactly an option at my mother's place.

Last weekend gave me something interesting:  yet another reason to be really glad that I'm getting out of here.  The crazy lady next door came knockin' on the door Saturday night ...drunk again (of course) and as obnoxious as ever.  It was pretty uncomfortable and a bit unnerving towards the end.  My ex had been "that drunk" many a time, and I think I may have even gotten a drunk dial from her once or twice in that kind of shape.  I don't mean to insinuate that it's remotely comfortable with my ex either, but at least I KNOW her though; the fucked-up lady next door who I barely even know coming over personally to subject me to that crap is way out of the realm of reason for me.

I didn't really even invite her in (in fact, I told her she needed to go home and lie down), but she staggered on in anyway and plopped down on the couch.  Amazing thing about how a completely inebriated person operates under the assumption that they are both completely welcome and that other people have the ability to understand what's going on in their drunk little minds.

She creeped me out though ...kept going on about the new owners of the apartments (yep, we were bought out and the new folks aren't making a stellar first impression with much of anyone), about how her kids hate her, about me being an atheist and how at least SHE taught her kids about God (tha part isn't a drunk thing solely; I have WAY too many Christians assume that I know nothing about the religion without knowing a single thing about me, and very seldom do any of them have a clue when they're being offensive).  She had a whole range of stuff she'd go through and then start all over again with the same stuff, the same statements, and all in a dialect of drunken-ese that was almost impossible to follow  ...it was enough to bring PTSD about both my Dad's Alzheimer and my ex with her "crazy drunk stuff" as well.  I tried numerous time to "hint" that she needed to leave, but she was either too dunk to pick up or just too stubborn (honestly, I'm not sure which ...she really did seem to think she was on some kind of mission or something).

Of course she eventually went just a little too far and I told her she needed to leave with no "hints" involved at all.  She went back to my bathroom and then started screeching about her knee ...it was weird as fuck and I know she has some sort of knee injury, but I sincerely doubt that the fuss she was putting up had anything to do with it.  It was probably some sort of weird "give me attention" thing; I would have thought an offer to help her back to her place would be welcome if she had actually hurt herself.  I made the mistake of calling her "Marsha" one of the times I told her she needed to go and she wigged out in a MOST scary kind of way.  The whole "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" probably would have been scary all by itself since it was coming from a virtual stranger, but the snarling rage thrown behind it removed any vestiges of desire to remain civil that I might have had.

I told her it was time to go, and she was outraged.  The whole "You can't make me leave" over and over again had me thinking I was going to have to call the police to get her the hell out of here (the whole "how DARE you tell me to leave" was creepy, but nowhere near as menacing).  Two other kind of scary statements were "do you think I'm dangerous or something?" was kind of scary (the way she said it), but the "I hope you get what you deserve" was the one that probably chilled me the most.  I'm guessing that was her showing her Christian love regarding my atheism, but there's really just no explaining crazy.  Given that last year when she introduced me to her daughter (I was just out walking the dog), the fact that the daughter said "You two take care of each other" led me to believe she probably had built up some sort of "relationship" in her head that we simply don't have if her daughter was making insinuations about our "taking care of each other" when I have actually gone out of my way to avoid the woman since her first drunken incident with me.

Sad to admit that I actually understand "that kind" of crazy, and have even been there (when I was much younger).  I suspect that she's probably harmless, but that still doesn't mean I want a psycho for a next-door neighbor that I have to pretend to tolerate.  I know from experience that the alcohol only amplifies the crazy too.  Honestly, after making such a fool out of herself, she's more than likely is glad to have me leaving as well ...so she'll be able to pretend it was all about me being a jerk to her rather than the other way around (yeah, I understand crazy all right, and that's exactly how it works).

It was actually the dog that finally got her out.  Not directly, but when I opened the door to show her where the exit was, I had to hook the leash on him.  To which she said "Oh, are you taking him for a walk? ...I'll just wait here."

Yeah, she really said that.

I doubt she would have budged if not for him on the leash outside with me right along behind him ...hard to say and she was certainly screeching like a harpy nearly the whole time.  I haven't seen her all week and since tomorrow is the big moving day, I'm hoping I'll be spared completely.  I most certainly won't be missing that kind of thing.

Ah well, I guess it's about time to get moving and start packing up the kitchen.  Hard to believe I will no longer live here by the next entry.