Thursday, November 13, 2008

The Mystery of Hatteras - Stay Blessed Andrew

My apartment building is so weird. One second, you're in the valley; then, you take a left turn into another dimension.

Out front we have a variety of automobiles: BMWs, Civics, beat-up P.O.Ss, and a strange gem of a vehicle airbrushed with flames and skulls that says metalrules.com or something of that nature.

A spiral chandelier gently lights the lobby, adding a soft glow to the exoskeletons of roaches that have moved on to their studio apartment in the sky. The people are great, but it's a wild mesh.

We have the man with the motorized cart that proudly displays a sticker of a handicapped man holding a bong. Much like the one below.



Then there's the dude with the parakeet, that starts tweet-tweetiling around 6:00 AM. I'm an early riser, so I don't mind. He's cute too. He sits on the guy's shoulder all day.

I love my neighbor. He's retired and finally working on his acting career. I can totally see him being in a movie- like an afterschool special or something. Nice guy, talkative guy, but a nice guy none-the-less.

My favorite is the man that always f*cks with Guy. He'll just pop out and be like, "What's up man? Have I told you that I've found my third eye? It's a gift." This man is so sweet, and Guy is so paranoid about him. He's a vet, and loves to sit outside and talk with neighbors after his nightly bike ride.

Our building manager is probably about 25 years old, which adds some contrast. Oh, and you can't forget the older man with the southern accent and huge glasses who you can tell has a heart of gold, and is always feeling mediocre. Not too happy, not too sad. I have yet to venture upstairs and see what that never-ending hallway holds.

What's extra dumpy about this place is that the apartments are so small, you have to lie in bed all the time. Guy and I compare it to the family's house in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

At first I was petrified to live here, now I'm fine with it . I feel like everyone's cool and the maintenance man makes me feel safe. I don't know why, but he does.

On a terribly sad note, one of my co-workers died today-Andrew Ashwood. He had cancer for awhile, and randomly had a heart attack a couple days ago. He was in a coma, and let go today. In a way I'm glad he went quickly, without feeling the full force of the cancer. The only good thing that comes from cancer, is that it opens your eyes and lets you tell your loved ones how much care. It puts things into perspective, and helps you discover what's really important. I'm glad Andrew got to experience that side of it. I'm just sorry he went so soon.



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