we arrived back at the apartment after a somewhat uninspired shopping expedition. and though we weren't completely unsuccessful, i was exhausted after trolling around a few stores hoping what i needed would jump into my arms and declare itself practically free. shaun proudly modelled his finds once we got home. he is several inches narrower than he used to be. myself, i have gone the other way. but not for lack of trying. he is oblivious, actually he is happy i am carrying more heft, but the discovery has hit my proud self hard and just won't go away. last time i was this size a bit of idle dieting and a few trips to the gym and it was sorted. not so easy on the other side of the four-oh. deliberate dieting, exercise, green tea, caffeine and sheer deprivation; nothing has helped shift it. it's a mere 8 pounds but it is driving me to distraction. i'm obsessing over what is and what isn't there. over what was and wasn't. i know i shouldn't but i do anyway.
so.....i wanted to snooze after another demoralizing session with my clothes off in front of a mirror at the local a&n bo-tee-que. my body's way of dealing is by shutting the whole thing down. i curl up with a blanket and begin to drift off. the fire alarm peals insolently and after a delayed response we put the harness and leash on bijou and join the small crowd of neighbours outside. as we stand in the park waiting we could still see people moving around in their suites. regular law abiding citizens. apparently this is a common occurrence says a neighbour who lives down the hall--a teenage girl who has taken a liking to bijou and is an afficiando of all things cats, especially the musical. in her 10 year tenure she has heard the alarm go off many more times than she count.
the next day i see that a notice has been posted on the the door by the fire department. there is a problem with the alarm system and our building at the moment has been deemed "unsafe". if the deficiencies aren't fixed the building will be declared uninhabitable. rich. the fire department is as unimpressed with their slack maintenance and cutting corners as we are. and now they are being taken to task. if they put as much energy into taking care of the building as they do in their "no crime" enforcement perhaps it wouldn't be in the shape it is. strange, but i forgave heritage age buildings i've lived in a whole miscellany of inadequacies and oversights just because they were so old, but in my dealings with the management of this building (a whole two months in) i've run out of patience with this teen age building.
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